]m 


'/JV 


'i'''j^! 


f  l^w^.  T 


Please 

handle  this  volume 

with  care. 

he  University  of  Connecticut 
Libraries,  Storrs 


^  »  »  »  »  »^ 


8503    ., 


I 


"^^53    00?a=]45c^ 


The  Third  Yearbook 

OF  THE 

NATIONAL  SOCIETY  FOR  THE  SCIENTIFIC 

STUDY  OF  EDUCATION  8 

'      5 


PART  I 

THE  RELATION  OF  THEORY  TO  PRACTICE  IN 
THE  EDUCATION  OF  TEACHERS 


(1)  JOHN  DEWEY;     (2)  SARAH  C.  BROOKS;     (3)  F.  M.  McMURRY,  T.  D. 
WOOD,  D.  E.  SMITH,  C.  H.  FARNSWORTH,  G.  R.  RICHARDS 


EDITED   BY 

CHARLES  A.  McMURRY 


PUBLIC  SCHOOL  PUBLISHING  COMPANY 
BLOOMINGTON,  ILLINOIS 


^-.2, 


COPYRIGHT,  1904,  BY 

Charles  A.  McMurry 
Chicago,  Illinois 


Published  February.  1904 
Second  Impreasion  May,  1912 
Third  Printing  January,  1927 


Composed  and  Printed  by 

The  University  of  Chicago  Press 

Chicago,  Illinois,  U.S.A. 

Reprinted  January,  1927  by 

Public  School  Publishing  Company 

Bloomington,  Illinois 


NOTICE  TO  ACTIVE  MEMBERS. 

There  will  be  two  meetings  at  Atlanta  for  the  discussion  of  these 
papers  by  active  members.  It  is  requested  that  the  active  members,  as 
far  as  possible,  attend  these  meetings  and  come  prepared  for  careful 
discussion. 

It  is  recommended  that  local  round  tables  be  organized  at  schools 
engaged  in  the  education  and  training  of  teachers  for  more  general 
and  thorough  discussion  of  this  important  phase  of  education. 

Those  holding  such  meetings  can  secure  additional  copies  of  the 
Yearbook,  and  any  of  the  previously  published  Yearbooks  of  the 
National  Herbart  Society,  from  The  University  of  Chicago  Press, 
Chicago,  Illinois. 


OFFICERS  AND  EXECUTIVE  COMMITTEE 

OF    THE 

NATIONAL  SOCIETY  FOR  THE  SCIENTIFIC  STUDY  OF 
EDUCATION 

Wilbur  S.  Jackman,  School  of  Education,  University  of  Chicago,  President 
Charles  DeGarmo  -  .  -  -  Cornell  University,  New  York 
William  L.  Bryan  -  -  -  University  of  Indiana,  Bloomington,  Ind. 
David  Felmley  -  .  -  -  State  Normal  University,  Normal,  111. 
C.  P.  Cary         .         -         -         -  State  Superintendent,  Madison,  Wis. 

Charles  A.  McMurry,  Northern  Illinois  State  Normal  School, 
DeKalb,  111.,  Secretary  -Treasurer. 


CONTENTS. 

VAGB 

The  Relation  of  Theorf  to  Practice  in  Education. 

John  Dewey       9 
Relation  of  Theory  to  Practice.     Sarah  C.  Brooks       -        -     31 

Theory  and  Practice  at  Teachers  College,  Columbia  Uni- 
versity. J^.  M.  McMurry,  T.  D.  Wood,  D.  E.  Smith,  C.  H. 
Farnsworth,  G,  R.  Richards         -         -         -         -         -         -     43 

List  of  Active  Members 65 


THE  THIRD  YEARBOOK 


THE    RELATION    OF   THEORY    TO    PRACTICE    IN 
EDUCATION.' 

John   Dewey, 
The  University  of  Chicago,  Chicago,  111. 

It  is  difficult,  if  not  impossible,  to  define  the  proper  relationship 
of  theory  and  practice  without  a  preliminary  discussion,  respectively, 
(i)  of  the  nature  and  aim  of  theory;  (2)  of  practice. 

A.  I  shall  assume  without  argument  that  adequate  professional 
instruction  of  teachers  is  not  exclusively  theoretical,  but  involves  a  cer- 
tain amount  of  practical  work.  The  primary  question  as  to  the  lat- 
ter is  the  aim  with  which  it  shall  be  conducted.  Two  controlling 
purposes  may  be  entertained  so  different  from  each  other  as  radically 
to  alter  the  amount,  conditions,  and  method  of  practice  work.  On 
one  hand,  we  may  carry  on  the  practical  work  with  the  object  of  giv- 
ing teachers  in  training  working  command  of  the  necessary  tools 
of  their  profession ;  control  of  the  technique  of  class  instruction  and 
management ;  skill  and  proficiency  in  the  work  of  teaching.  With 
this  aim  in  view,  practice  work  is,  as  far  as  it  goes,  of  the  nature  of 
apprenticeship.  On  the  other  hand,  we  may  propose  to  use  practice 
work  as  an  instrument  in  making  real  and  vital  theoretical  instruc- 
tion ;  the  knowledge  of  subject-matter  and  of  principles  of  education. 
This  is  the  laboratory  point  of  view. 

The  contrast  between  the  two  points  of  view  is  obvious ;  and  the 
two  aims  together  give  the  limiting  terms  within  which  all  practice 
work  falls.  From  one  point  of  view,  the  aim  is  to  form  and  equip  the 
actual  teacher ;  the  aim  is  immediately  as  well  as  ultimately  practi- 
cal.    From  the  other  point   of  view,   the  immediate  aim,  the  way  of 

*This  paper  is  to  be  taken  as  representing  the  views  of  the  writer,  rather  than 
those  of  any  particular  institution  in  an  official  way ;  for  the  writer  thought  it  better 
to  discuss  certain  principles  that  seem  to  him  fundamental,  rather  than  to  define  a 
system  of  procedure. 

9 


lO  THE  THIRD  YEARBOOK 

getting  at  the  ultimate  aim,  is  to  supply  the  intellectual  method  and 
material  of  good  workmanship,  instead  of  making  on  the  spot,  as  it 
were,  an  efficient  workman.  Practice  work  thus  considered  is  admin- 
istered primarily  with  reference  to  the  intellectual  reactions  it  incites, 
giving  the  student  a  better  hold  upon  the  educational  significance  of 
the  subject-matter  he  is  acquiring,  and  of  the  science,  philosophy,  and 
history  of  education.  Of  course,  the  results  are  not  exclusive.  It 
would  be  very  strange  if  practice  work  in  doing  what  the  laboratory 
does  for  a  student  of  physics  or  chemistry  in  way  of  securing  a  more 
vital  understanding  of  its  principles,  should  not  at  the  same  time 
insure  some  skill  in  the  instruction  and  management  of  a  class.  It 
would  also  be  peculiar  if  the  process  of  acquiring  such  skill  should  not 
also  incidentally  serve  to  enlighten  and  enrich  instruction  in  subject- 
matter  and  the  theory  of  education.  None  the  less,  there  is  a  funda- 
mental difference  in  the  conception  and  conduct  of  the  practice  work 
according  as  one  idea  or  the  other  is  dominant  and  the  other  subordi- 
nate. If  the  primary  object  of  practice  is  acquiring  skill  in  perform- 
ing the  duties  of  a  teacher,  then  the  amount  of  time  given  to  practice 
work,  the  place  at  which  it  is  introduced,  the  method  of  conducting 
it,  of  supervising,  criticising,  and  correlating  it,  will  differ  widely 
from  the  method  where  the  laboratory  ideal  prevails ;  and  vice  versa. 

In  discussing  this  matter,  I  shall  try  to  present  what  I  have  termed 
the  laboratory,  as  distinct  from  the  apprentice  idea.  While  I  speak 
primarily  from  the  standpoint  of  the  college,  I  should  not  be  frank  if 
I  did  not  say  that  I  believe  what  I  am  going  to  say  holds,  mutatis 
mutandis t  for  the  normal  school  as  well. 

I.  I  first  adduce  the  example  of  other  professional  schools.  I 
doubt  whether  we,  as  educators,  keep  in  mind  with  sufficient  constancy 
the  fact  that  the  problem  of  training  teachers  is  one  species  of  a  more 
generic  affair  —  that  of  training  for  professions.  Our  problem  is  akin 
to  that  of  training  architects,  engineers,  doctors,  lawyers,  etc.  More- 
over, since  (shameful  and  incredible  as  it  seems)  the  vocation  of  teach- 
ing is  practically  the  last  to  recognize  the  need  of  specific  professional 
preparation,  there  is  all  the  more  reason  for  teachers  to  try  to  find  what 
they  may  learn  from  the  more  extensive  and  matured  experience  of  other 
callings.  If  now  we  turn  to  what  has  happened  in  the  history  of  train- 
ing for  other  professions,  we  find  the  following  marked  tendencies : 

I.  The  demand  for  an  increased  amount  of  scholastic  attainments 
as  a  prerequisite  for  entering  upon  professional  work. 


RELATION  OF  THEORY  TO  PRACTICE  II 

2.  Development  of  certain  lines  of  work  in  the  applied  sciences 
and  arts,  as  centers  of  professional  work ;  compare,  for  example,  the 
place  occupied  by  chemistry  and  physiology  in  medical  training  at 
present,  with  that  occupied  by  chairs  of  "practice"  and  oi  ^'materia 
medica'"  a  generation  ago. 

3.  Arrangement  of  the  practical  and  quasi-professional  work  upon 
the  assumption  that  (limits  of  time,  etc.,  being  taken  into  account)  the 
professional  school  does  its  best  for  its  students  when  it  gives  them 
typical  and  intensive,  rather  than  extensive  and  detailed,  practice. 
It  aims,  in  a  word,  at  control  of  the  intellectual  methods  required  for 
personal  and  independent  mastery  of  practical  skill,  rather  than 
at  turning  out  at  once  masters  of  the  craft.  This  arrangement 
necessarily  involves  considerable  postponement  of  skill  in  the  routine 
and  technique  of  the  profession,  until  the  student,  after  graduation, 
enters  upon  the  pursuit  of  his  calling. 

These  results  are  all  the  more  important  to  us  because  other  pro- 
fessional schools  mostly  started  from  the  same  position  which  training 
schools  for  teachers  have  occupied.  Their  history  shows  a  period  in 
which  the  idea  was  that  students  ought  from  the  start  to  be  made 
as  proficient  as  possible  in  practical  skill.  In  seeking  for  the  motive 
forces  which  have  caused  professional  schools  to  travel  so  steadily 
away  from  this  position  and  toward  the  idea  that  practical  work 
should  be  conducted  for  the  sake  of  vitalizing  and  illuminating 
intellectual  methods  two  reasons  may  be  singled  out : 

«)  First,  the  limited  time  at  the  disposal  of  the  schools,  and  the 
consequent  need  of  economy  in  its  employ.  It  is  not  necessary  to 
assume  that  apprenticeship  is  of  itself  a  bad  thing.  On  the  contrary, 
it  may  be  admitted  to  be  a  good  thing  ;  but  the  time  which  a  student 
spends  in  the  training  school  is  short  at  the  best.  Since  short,  it  is  an 
urgent  matter  that  it  be  put  to  its  most  effective  use;  and,  relatively 
speaking,  the  wise  employ  of  this  short  time  is  in  laying  scientific 
foundations.  These  cannot  be  adequately  secured  when  one  is  doing 
the  actual  work  of  the  profession,  while  professional  life  does  afford 
time  for  acquiring  and  perfecting  skill  of  the  more  technical  sort. 

b)  In  the  second  place,  there  is  inability  to  furnish  in  the  school 
adequate  conditions  for  the  best  acquiring  and  using  of  skill.  As 
compared  with  actual  practice,  the  best  that  the  school  of  law  or  medi- 
cine can  do  is  to  provide  a  somewhat  remote  and  simulated  copy  of 
the  real  thing.     For  such  schools  to  attempt  to  give  the  skill  which 


12  THE  THIRD  YEARBOOK 

comes  to  those  adequately  prepared,  insensibly  and  unavoidably  in 
actual  work,  is  the  same  sort  of  thing  as  for  grammar  schools  to  spend 
months  upon  months  in  trying  to  convey  (usually  quite  unsuccess- 
fully) that  skill  in  commercial  arithmetic  which  comes,  under  penalty  of 
practical  failure,  in  a  few  weeks  in  the  bank  or  counting-house. 

It  may  be  said  that  the  analogy  does  not  hold  good  for  teachers' 
training  schools,  because  such  institutions  have  model  or  practice 
departments,  supplying  conditions  which  are  identical  with  those  which 
the  teacher  has  to  meet  in  the  actual  pursuit  of  his  calling.  But  this 
is  true  at  most  only  in  such  normal  schools  as  are  organized  after  the 
Oswego  pattern  —  schools,  that  is  to  say,  where  the  pupil-teacher  is 
given  for  a  considerable  period  of  time  the  entire  charge  of  instruc- 
tion and  discipline  in  the  class-room,  and  does  not  come  under  a  room 
critic-teacher.  In  all  other  cases,  some  of  the  most  fundamentally 
significant  features  of  the  real  school  are  reduced  or  eliminated.  Most 
"practice  schools"  are  a  compromise.  In  theory  they  approximate 
ordinary  conditions.  As  matter  of  fact,  the  "  best  interests  of  the  chil- 
dren "  are  so  safeguarded  and  supervised  that  the  situation  approaches 
learning  to  swim  without  going  too  near  the  water. 

There  are  many  ways  that  do  not  strike  one  at  first  glance,  for 
removing  the  conditions  of  "practice  work"  from  those  of  actual 
teaching.  Deprivation  of  responsibility  for  the  discipline  of  the  room  ; 
the  continued  presence  of  an  expert  ready  to  suggest,  to  take  matters 
into  his  own  hands;  close  supervision;  reduction  of  size  of  group 
taught;  etc.,  etc.,  are  some  of  these  ways.  The  topic  of  "lesson  plans" 
will  be  later  referred  to  in  connection  with  another  topic.  Here 
they  may  be  alluded  to  as  constituting  one  of  the  modes  in  which  the 
conditions  of  the  practice-teacher  are  made  unreal.  The  student  who 
prepares  a  number  of  more  or  less  set  lessons ;  who  then  has  those 
lesson  plans  criticised ;  who  then  has  his  actual  teaching  criticised  from 
the  standpoint  of  success  in  carrying  out  the  prearranged  plans,  is  in  a 
totally  different  attitude  from  the  teacher  who  has  to  build  up  and 
modify  his  teaching  plans  as  he  goes  along  from  experience  gained  in 
contact  with  pupils. 

It  would  be  difficult  to  find  two  things  more  remote  from  each 
other  than  the  development  of  subject-matter  under  such  control  as  is 
supplied  from  actual  teaching,  taking  effect  through  the  teacher's  own 
initiative  and  reflective  criticism,  and  its  development  with  an  eye 
fixed  upon  the  judgment,  presumed  and  actual,  of  a  superior  super- 


RELATION  OF  THEORY  TO  PRACTICE  13 

visory  officer.  Those  phases  of  the  problem  of  practice  teaching  which 
relate  more  distinctly  to  responsibility  for  the  discipline  of  the  room, 
or  of  the  class,  have  received  considerable  attention  in  the  past;  bu 
he  more  delicate  and  far-reaching  matter  of  intellectual  responsibility 
is  too  frequently  ignored.  Here  centers  the  problem  of  securing  con- 
ditions which  will  make  practice  work  a  genuine  apprenticeship. 

II.  To  place  the  emphasis  upon  the  securing  of  proficiency  in 
teaching  and  discipline  puts  the  attention  of  the  student-teacher  in  the 
wrong  place ^  and  tends  to  fix  it  in  the  wrong  direction —  not  wrong  abso- 
lutely, but  relatively  as  regards  perspective  of  needs  and  opportunities. 
The  would-be  teacher  has  some  time  or  other  to  face  and  solve  two 
problems,  each  extensive  and  serious  enough  by  itself  to  demand 
absorbing  and  undivided  attention.     These  two  problems  are: 

1.  Mastery  of  subject-matter  from  the  standpoint  of  its  educational 
value  and  use;  or,  what  is  the  same  thing,  the  mastery  of  educational 
principles  in  their  application  to  that  subject-matter  which  is  at  once 
the  material  of  instruction  and  the  basis  of  discipline  and  control; 

2.  The  mastery  of  the  technique  of  class  management. 

This  does  not  mean  that  the  two  problems  are  in  any  way  isolated 
or  independent.  On  the  contrary,  they  are  strictly  correlative.  But 
the  mind  of  a  student  cannot  give  equal  attention  to  both  at  the  same 
time. 

The  difficulties  which  face  a  beginning  teacher,  who  is  set  down  for 
the  first  time  before  a  class  of  from  thirty  to  sixty  children,  in  the 
responsibilities  not  only  of  instruction,  but  of  maintaining  the  required 
order  in  the  room  as  a  whole,  are  most  trying.  It  is  almost  impossible 
for  an  old  teacher  who  has  acquired  the  requisite  skill  of  doing  two  or 
three  distinct  things  simultaneously  —  skill  to  see  the  room  as  a  whole 
while  hearing  oile  individual  in  one  class  recite,  of  keeping  the  pro- 
gram of  the  day  and,  yes,  of  the  week  and  of  the  month  in  the 
fringe  of  consciousness  while  the  work  of  the  hour  is  in  its  center — it 
is  almost  impossible  for  such  a  teacher  to  realize  all  the  difficulties  that 
confront  the  average  beginner. 

There  is  a  technique  of  teaching,  just  as  there  is  a  technique  of 
piano-playing.  The  technique,  if  it  is  to  be  educationally  effective,  is 
dependent  upon  principles.  But  it  is  possible  for  a  student  to  acquire 
outward  form  of  method  without  capacity  to  put  it  to  genuinely  educa- 
tive use.  As  every  teacher  knows,  children  have  an  inner  and  an  outer 
attention.     The  inner  attention  is   the  giving  of  the  mind  without 


14  THE  THIRD  YEARBOOK 

reserve  or  qualification  to  the  subject  in  hand.  It  is  the  first-hand  and 
personal  play  of  mental  powers.  As  such,  it  is  a  fundamental  condi- 
tion of  mental  growth.  To  be  able  to  keep  track  of  this  mental  play, 
to  recognize  the  signs  of  its  presence  or  absence,  to  know  how  it  is 
initiated  and  maintained,  how  to  test  it  by  results  attained,  and  to  test 
apparent  results  by  it,  is  the  supreme  mark  and  criterion  of  a  teacher. 
It  means  insight  into  soul-action,  ability  to  discriminate  the  genuine 
from  the  sham,  and  capacity  to  further  one  and  discourage  the  other. 

External  attention,  on  the  other  hand,  is  that  given  to  the  book  or 
teacher  as  an  independent  object.  It  is  manifested  in  certain  conven- 
tional postures  and  physical  attitudes  rather  than  in  the  movement  of 
thought.  Children  acquire  great  dexterity  in  exhibiting  in  conven- 
tional and  expected  ways  the  form  oi  attention  to  school  work,  while 
reserving  the  inner  play  of  their  own  thoughts,  images,  and  emotions 
for  subjects  that  are  more  important  to  them,  but  quite  irrelevant. 

Now,  the  teacher  who  is  plunged  prematurely  into  the  pressing  and 
practical  problem  of  keeping  order  in  the  schoolroom  has  almost  of 
necessity  to  make  supreme  the  matter  of  external  attention.  The  teacher 
has  not  yet  had  the  training  which  affords  psychological  insight — 
which  enables  him  to  judge  promptly  (and  therefore  almost  automatic- 
ally) the  kind  and  mode  of  subject-matter  which  the  pupil  needs  at  a 
given  moment  to  keep  his  attention  moving  forward  effectively  and 
healthfully.  He  does  know,  however,  that  he  must  maintain  order ; 
that  he  must  keep  the  attention  of  the  pupils  fixed  upon  his  own 
questions,  suggestions,  instructions,  and  remarks,  and  upon  their  "les- 
sons. "  The  inherent  tendency  of  the  situation  therefore  is  for  him 
to  acquire  his  technique  in  relation  to  the  outward  rather  than  the  inner 
mode  of  attention. 

III.  Along  with  this  fixation  of  attention  upon  the  secondary  at 
the  expense  of  the  primary  problem,  /kerg  goes  the  formation  of  habits 
of  work  which  have  an  empirical^  rather  than  a  scientific^  sanction.  The 
student  adjusts  his  actual  methods  of  teaching,  not  to  the  principles 
which  he  is  acquiring,  but  to  what  he  sees  succeed  and  fail  in  an 
empirical  way  from  moment  to  moment :  to  what  he  sees  other  teach- 
ers doing  who  are  more  experienced  and  successful  in  keeping  order 
than  he  is;  and  to  the  injunctions  and  directions  given  him  by  others. 
In  this  way  the  controlling  habits  of  the  teacher  finally  get  fixed  with 
comparatively  little  reference  to  principles  in  the  psychology,  logic, 
and  history  of  education.     In  theory,  these  latter  are  dominant ;  in 


RELATION  OF  THEORY  TO  PRACTICE  15 

practice,  the  moving  forces  are  the  devices  and  methods  which  are 
picked  up  through  blind  experimentation ;  through  examples  which 
are  not  rationalized ;  through  precepts  which  are  more  or  less  arbitrary 
and  mechanical ;  through  advice  based  upon  the  experience  of  others. 
Here  we  have  the  explanation,  in  considerable  part  at  least,  of  the 
dualism,  the  unconscious  duplicity,  which  is  one  of  the  chief  evils  of 
the  teaching  profession.  There  is  an  enthusiastic  devotion  to  certain 
principles  of  lofty  theory  in  the  abstract — principles  of  self-activity, 
self-control,  intellectual  and  moral — and  there  is  a  school  practice  tak- 
ing little  heed  of  the  official  pedagogic  creed.  Theory  and  practice  do 
not  grow  together  out  of  and  into  the  teacher's  personal  experience. 

Ultimately  there  are  two  bases  upon  which  the  habits  of  a  teacher 
as  a  teacher  may  be  built  up.  They  may  be  formed  under  the  inspira- 
tion and  constant  criticism  of  intelligence,  applying  the  best  that  is 
available.  This  is  possible  only  where  the  would-be  teacher  has  become 
fairly  saturated  with  his  subject-matter,  and  with  his  psychological  and 
ethical  philosophy  of  education.  Only  when  such  things  have  become 
incorporated  in  mental  habit,  have  become  part  of  the  working  tenden- 
cies of  observation,  insight,  and  reflection,  will  these  principles  work 
automatically,  unconsciously,  and  hence  promptly  and  effectively.  And 
this  means  that  practical  work  should  be  pursued  primarily  with  refer- 
ence to  its  reaction  upon  the  professional  pupil  in  making  him  a 
thoughtful  and  alert  student  of  education,  rather  than  to  help  him  get 
immediate  proficiency. 

For  immediate  skill  may  be  got  at  the  cost  of  power  to  go  on  grow- 
ing. The  teacher  who  leaves  the  professional  school  with  power  in 
managing  a  class  of  children  may  appear  to  superior  advantage  the 
first  day,  the  first  week,  the  first  month,  or  even  the  first  year,  as  com- 
pared with  some  other  teacher  who  has  a  much  more  vital  command 
of  the  psychology,  logic,  and  ethics  of  development.  But  later  "pro- 
gress" may  with  such  consist  only  in  perfecting  and  refining  skill  already 
possessed.  Such  persons  seem  to  know  how  to  teach,  but  they  are  not 
students  of  teaching.  Even  though  they  go  on  studying  books  of  peda- 
gogy, reading  teachers'  journals,  attending  teachers'  institutes,  etc., 
yet  the  root  of  the  matter  is  not  in  them,  unless  they  continue  to  be 
students  of  subject-matter,  and  students  of  mind-activity.  Unless  a 
teacher  is  such  a  student,  he  may  continue  to  improve  in  the  mechan- 
ics of  school  management,  but  he  can  not  grow  as  a  teacher,  an 
inspirer  and  director  of  soul-life.     How  often  do  candid  instructors  in 


1 6  THE  THIRD  YEARBOOK 

training  schools  for  teachers  acknowledge  disappointment  in  the  later 
career  of  even  their  more  promising  condidates!  They  seem  to  strike 
twelve  at  the  start.  There  is  an  unexpected  and  seemingly  unaccount- 
able failure  to  maintain  steady  growth.  Is  this  in  some  part  due  to 
the  undue  premature  stress  laid  in  early  practice  work  upon  securing 
immediate  capability  in  teaching? 

I  might  go  on  to  mention  other  evils  which  seem  to  me  to  be  more 
or  less  the  effect  of  this  same  cause.  Among  them  are  the  lack  of  intel- 
lectual independence  among  teachers,  their  tendency  to  intellectual 
subserviency.  The  "model  lesson  "of  the  teachers'  institute  and  of 
the  educational  journal  is  a  monument,  on  the  one  hand,  of  the  eager- 
ness of  those  in  authority  to  secure  immediate  practical  results  at  any 
cost;  and,  upon  the  other,  of  the  willingness  of  our  teaching  corps  to 
accept  without  inquiry  or  criticism  any  method  or  device  which  seems 
to  promise  good  results.  Teachers,  actual  and  intending,  flock  to  those 
persons  who  give  them  clear-cut  and  definite  instructions  as  to  just 
how  to  teach  this  or  that. 

The  tendency  of  educational  development  to  proceed  by  reaction 
from  one  thing  to  another,  to  adopt  for  one  year,  or  for  a  term  of 
seven  years,  this  or  that  new  study  or  method  of  teaching,  and  then  as 
abruptly  to  swing  over  to  some  new  educational  gospel,  is  a  result  which 
would  be  impossible  if  teachers  were  adequately  moved  by  their  own 
independent  intelligence.  The  willingness  of  teachers,  especially  of 
those  occupying  administrative  positions,  to  become  submerged  in  the 
routine  detail  of  their  callings,  to  expend  the  bulk  of  their  energy 
upon  forms  and  rules  and  regulations,  and  reports  and  percentages,  is 
another  evidence  of  the  absence  of  intellectual  vitality.  If  teachers 
were  possessed  by  the  spirit  of  an  abiding  student  of  education,  this 
spirit  would  find  some  way  of  breaking  through  the  mesh  and  coil  of 
circumstance  and  would  find  expression  for  itself. 

B.  Let  us  turn  from  the  practical  side  to  the  theoretical.  What 
must  be  the  aim  and  spirit  of  theory  in  order  that  practice  work  may 
really  serve  the  purpose  of  an  educational  laboratory  ?  We  are  met 
here  with  the  belief  that  instruction  in  theory  is  merely  theoretical, 
abstruse,  remote,  and  therefore  relatively  useless  to  the  teacher  as  a 
teacher,  unless  the  student  is  at  once  set  upon  the  work  of  teaching ; 
that  only  ''practice"  can  give  a  motive  to  a  professional  learning,  and 
supply  material  for  educational  courses.  It  is  not  infrequently  claimed 
(or  at  least  unconsciously  assumed)  that  students  will  not  have  a  pro- 


RELATION  OF  THEORY  TO  PRACTICE  IJ 

fessional  stimulus  for  their  work  in  subject-matter  and  in  educational 
psychology  and  history,  will  not  have  any  outlook  upon  their  relation 
to  education,  unless  these  things  are  immediately  and  simultaneously 
reinfotced  by  setting  the  student  upon  the  work  of  teaching.  But  is 
this  the  case  ?  Or  are  there  practical  elements  and  bearings  already 
contained  in  theoretical  instruction  of  the  proper  sort  ? 

I.  Since  it  is  impossible  to  cover  in  this  paper  all  phases  of  the  phi- 
losophy and  science  of  education,  I  shall  speak  from  the  standpoint  of 
psychology,  believing  that  this  may  be  taken  as  typical  of  the  whole 
range  of  instruction  in  educational  theory  as  such. 

In  the  first  place,  beginning  students  have  without  any  reference 
to  immediate  teaching  a  very  large  capital  of  an  exceedingly  practical 
sort  in  their  own  experience.  The  argument  that  theoretical  instruc- 
tion is  merely  abstract  and  in  the  air  unless  students  are  set  at  once  to 
test  and  illustrate  it  by  practice-teaching  of  their  own,  overlooks  the 
continuity  of  the  class-room  mental  activity  with  that  of  other  normal 
experience.  It  ignores  the  tremendous  importance  for  educational 
purposes  of  this  continuity.  Those  who  employ  this  argument  seem 
to  isolate  the  psychology  of  learning  that  goes  on  in  the  schoolroom 
from  the  psychology  of  learning  found  elsewhere. 

This  isolation  is  both  unnecessary  and  harmful.  It  is  unnecessary, 
tending  to  futility,  because  it  throws  away  or  makes  light  of  the 
greatest  asset  in  the  student's  possession  —  the  greatest,  moreover,  that 
ever  will  be  in  his  possession  —  his  own  direct  and  personal  experience. 
There  is  every  presumption  (since  the  student  is  not  an  imbecile)  that 
he  has  been  learning  all  the  days  of  his  life,  and  that  he  is  still 
learning  from  day  to  day.  He  must  accordingly  have  in  his  own 
experience  plenty  of  practical  material  by  which  to  illustrate  and 
vitalize  theoretical  principles  and  laws  of  mental  growth  in  the  process 
of  learning.  Moreover,  since  none  of  us  is  brought  up  under  ideal 
conditions,  each  beginning  student  has  plenty  of  practical  experience 
by  which  to  illustrate  cases  of  arrested  development  —  instances  of 
failure  and  maladaptation  and  retrogression,  or  even  degeneration. 
The  material  at  hand  is  pathological  as  well  as  healthy.  It  serves  to 
embody  and  illustrate  both  achievement  and  failure,  in  the  problem  of 
learning. 

But  it  is  more  than  a  serious  mistake  (violating  the  principle  of 
proceeding  from  the  known  to  the  unknown)  to  fail  to  take  account  of 
this  body  of  practical  experience.     Such  ignoring  tends  also  to  per- 


1 8  THE  THIRD  YEARBOOK 

petuate  some  of  the  greatest  evils  of  current  school  methods.  Just 
because  the  student's  attention  is  not  brought  to  the  point  of  recog- 
nizing that  his  own  past  and  present  growth  is  proceeding  in  accordance 
with  the  very  laws  that  control  growth  in  the  school,  and  that  there  is  no 
psychology  of  the  schoolroom  different  from  that  of  the  nursery,  the 
playground,  the  street,  and  the  parlor,  he  comes  unconsciously  to 
assume  that  education  in  the  class-room  is  a  sort  of  unique  thing,  hav- 
ing its  own  laws.'  Unconsciously,  but  none  the  less  surely,  the  student 
comes  to  believe  in  certain  "methods"  of  learning,  and  hence  of  teach- 
ing which  are  somehow  especially  appropriate  to  the  school  —  which 
somehow  have  their  particular  residence  and  application  there.  Hence 
he  comes  to  believe  in  the  potency  for  schoolroom  purposes  of  mate- 
rials, methods,  and  devices  which  it  never  occurs  to  him  to  trust  to 
in  his  experience  outside  of  school. 

I  know  a  teacher  of  teachers  who  is  accustomed  to  say  that  when 
she  fails  to  make  clear  to  a  class  of  teachers  some  point  relative  to 
children,  she  asks  these  teachers  to  stop  thinking  of  their  own  pupils 
and  to  think  of  some  nephew,  niece,  cousin,  some  child  of  whom  they 
have  acquaintance  in  the  unformalities  of  home  life.  I  do  not  suppose 
any  great  argument  is  needed  to  prove  that  breach  of  continuity 
between  learning  within  and  without  the  school  is  the  great  cause  in 
education  of  wasted  power  and  misdirected  effort.  I  wish  rather  to 
take  advantage  of  this  assumption  (which  I  think  will  be  generally 
accepted)  to  emphasize  the  danger  of  bringing  the  would-be  teacher 
into  an  abrupt  and  dislocated  contact  with  the  psychology  of  the 
schoolroom  —  abrupt  and  dislocated  because  not  prepared  for  by  prior 
practice  in  selecting  and  organizing  the  relevant  principles  and  data 
contained  within  the  experience  best  known  to  him,  his  own."" 

From  this  basis,  a  transition  to  educational  psychology  may  be 
made  in  observation  of  the  teaching  of  others — visiting  classes.  I 
should  wish  to  note  here,  however,  the  same  principle  that  I  have  men- 
tioned as  regards  practice  work,  specifically  so  termed.  The  first 
observation  of  instruction   given  by  model-  or  critic-teachers  should 

^  There  is  where  the  plea  for  "  adult "  psychology  has  force.  The  person  who 
does  not  know  himself  is  not  likely  to  know  others.  The  adult  psychology  ought, 
however,  to  be  just  as  genetic  as  that  of  childhood. 

» It  may  avoid  misapprehension  if  I  repeat  the  word  experience.  It  is  not  a  meta- 
physical introspection  that  I  have  in  mind,  but  the  process  of  turning  back  upon  one's 
own  experiences,  and  turning  them  over  to  see  how  they  were  developed,  what  helped 
and  hindered,  the  stimuli  and  the  inhibitions  both  within  and  without  the  organism. 


RELATION  OF  THEORY  TO  PRACTICE  19 

not  be  too  definitely  practical  in  aim.  The  student  should  not  be 
observing  to  find  out  how  the  good  teacher  does  it,  in  order  to  accumu- 
late a  store  of  methods  by  which  he  also  may  teach  successfully.  He 
should  rather  observe  with  reference  to  seeing  the  interaction  of  mind, 
to  see  how  teacher  and  pupils  react  upon  each  other  — how  mind 
answers  to  mind.  Observation  should  at  first  be  conducted  from  the 
psychological  rather  than  from  the  "practical"  standpoint.  If  the 
latter  is  emphasized  before  the  student  has  an  independent  command 
of  the  former,  the  principle  of  imitation  is  almost  sure  to  play  an 
exaggerated  part  in  the  observer's  future  teaching,  and  hence  at  the 
expense  of  personal  insight  and  initiative.  What  the  student  needs 
most  at  this  stage  of  growth  is  ability  to  see  what  is  going  on  in  the 
minds  of  a  group  of  persons  who  are  in  intellectual  contact  with  one 
another.  He  needs  to  learn  to  observe  psychologically  —  a  very  dif- 
ferent thing  from  simply  observing  how  a  teacher  gets  "good  results" 
in  presenting  any  particular  subject. 

It  should  go  without  saying  that  the  student  who  has  acquired 
power  in  psychological  observation  and  interpretation  may  finally  go 
on  to  observe  more  technical  aspects  of  instruction,  namely,  the  various 
methods  and  instrumentalities  used  by  a  good  teacher  in  giving  instruc- 
tion in  any  subject.  If  properly  prepared  for,  this  need  not  tend  to 
produce  copiers,  followers  of  tradition  and  example.  Such  students  will 
be  able  to  translate  the  practical  devices  which  are  such  an  important 
part  of  the  equipment  of  a  good  teacher  over  into  their  psychological 
equivalents ;  to  know  not  merely  as  a  matter  of  brute  fact  that  they  do 
work,  but  to  know  how  and  why  they  work.  Thus  he  will  be  an  inde- 
pendent judge  and  critic  of  their  proper  use  and  adaptation. 

In  the  foregoing  I  have  assumed  that  educational  psychology  is 
marked  off  from  general  psychology  simply  by  the  emphasis  which  it 
puts  upon  two  factors.  The  first  is  the  stress  laid  upon  a  certain  end, 
namely,  growth  or  development  —  with  its  counterparts,  arrest  and 
adaptation.  The  second  is  the  importance  attached  to  the  social 
factor — to  the  mutual  interaction  of  different  minds  with  each  other. 
It  is,  I  think,  strictly  true  that  no  educational  procedure  nor  pedagogical 
maxim  can  be  derived  directly  from  pure  psychological  data.  The 
psychological  data  taken  without  qualification  (which  is  what  I  mean 
by  their  being  pure)  cover  everything  and  anything  that  may  take 
place  in  a  mind.  Mental  arrest  and  decay  occur  according  to  psycho- 
logical laws,  just  as  surely  as  do  development  and  progress. 


20  THE  THIRD  YEARBOOK 

We  do  not  make  practical  maxims  out  of  physics  by  telling  persons  to 
move  according  to  laws  of  gravitation.  If  people  move  at  all,  they  must 
move  in  accordance  with  the  conditions  stated  by  this  law.  Simi- 
larly, if  mental  operations  take  place  at  all,  they  must  take  place  in 
accordance  with  the  principles  stated  in  correct  psychological  general- 
izations. It  is  superfluous  and  meaningless  to  attempt  to  turn  these 
psychological  principles  directly  into  rules  of  teaching.  But  the  per- 
son who  knows  the  laws  of  mechanics  knows  the  conditions  of  which 
he  must  take  account  when  he  wishes  to  reach  a  certain  end.  He 
knows  that  //  he  aims  to  build  a  bridge,  he  must  build  it  in  a  certain  way 
and  of  certain  materials,  or  else  he  will  not  have  a  bridge,  but  a  heap  of 
rubbish.  So  in  psychology.  Given  an  end,  say  promotion  of  healthy 
growth,  psychological  observations  and  reflection  put  us  in  control 
of  the  conditions  concerned  in  that  growth.  We  know  that  if  we  are 
to  get  that  end,  we  must  do  it  in  a  certain  way.  It  is  the  subordination 
of  the  psychological  material  to  the  problem  of  effecting  growth  and 
avoiding  arrest  and  waste  which  constitutes  a  distinguishing  mark  of 
educational  psychology. 

I  have  spoken  of  the  importance  of  the  social  factor  as  the  other 
mark.  I  do  not  mean,  of  course,  that  general  theoretical  psychology 
ignores  the  existence  and  significance  of  the  reaction  of  mind  to  mind 
—  though  it  would  be  within  bounds  to  say  that  till  recently  the 
social  side  was  an  unwritten  chapter  of  psychology.  I  mean  that 
considerations  of  the  ways  in  which  one  mind  responds  to  the 
stimuli  which  another  mind  is  consciously  or  unconsciously  furnish- 
ing possess  a  relative  importance  for  the  educator  which  they  have  not 
for  the  psychologist  as  such.  From  the  teacher's  standpoint,  it  is 
not  too  much  to  say  that  every  habit  which  a  pupil  exhibits  is  to  be 
regarded  as  a  reaction  to  stimuli  which  some  persons  or  group  of 
persons  have  presented  to  the  child.  It  is  not  too  much  to  say  that 
the  most  important  thing  for  the  teacher  to  consider,  as  regards  his 
present  relations  to  his  pupils,  is  the  attitudes  and  habits  which  his 
own  modes  of  being,  saying,  and  doing  are  fostering  or  discouraging 
in  them. 

Now,  if  these  two  assumptions  regarding  educational  psychology 
be  granted,  I  think  it  will  follow  as  a  matter  of  course,  that  only  by 
beginning  with  the  values  and  laws  contained  in  the  student's  own 
experience  of  his  own  mental  growth,  and  by  proceeding  gradually  to 
facts  connected  with  other  persons  of  whom  he  can  know  little;  and  by 


RELATION  OF  THEORY  TO  PRACTICE  21 

proceeding  still  more  gradually  to  the  attempt  actually  to  influence  the 
mental  operations  of  others,  can  educational  theory  be  made  most 
effective.  Only  in  this  way  can  the  most  essential  trait  of  the  mental 
habit  of  the  teacher  be  secured  —  that  habi-t  which  looks  upon  the  inter- 
nal, not  upon  the  external ;  which  sees  that  the  important  function  of 
the  teacher  is  direction  of  the  mental  movement  of  the  student,  and 
that  the  mental  movement  must  be  known  before  it  can  be  directed. 

II.  I  turn  now  to  the  side  of  subject-matter,  or  scholarship,  with  the 
hope  of  showing  that  here  too  the  material,  when  properly  presented, 
is  not  so  merely  theoretical,  remote  from  the  practical  problems  of 
teaching,  as  is  sometimes  supposed.  I  recall  that  once  a  graduate 
student  in  a  university  made  inquiries  among  all  the  leading  teachers  in 
the  institution  with  which  he  was  connected  as  to  whether  they  had 
received  any  professional  training,  whether  they  had  taken  courses  in 
pedagogy.  The  inquirer  threw  the  results,  which  were  mostly  nega- 
tive, into  the  camp  of  the  local  pedagogical  club.  Some  may  say  that 
this  proves  nothing,  because  college  teaching  is  proverbially  poor,  con- 
sidered simply  as  teaching.  Yet  no  one  can  deny  that  there  is  some 
good  teaching,  and  some  teaching  of  the  very  first  order,  done  in  col- 
leges, and  done  by  persons  who  have  never  had  any  instruction  in  either 
the  theory  or  the  practice  of  teaching. 

This  fact  cannot  be  ignored  any  more  than  can  the  fact  that  there  were 
good  teachers  before  there  was  any  such  thing  as  pedagogy.  Now,  I  am 
not  arguing  for  not  having  pedagogical  training  —  that  is  the  last  thing 
I  want.  But  I  claim  the  facts  mentioned  prove  that  scholarship /<?r  se 
may  itself  be  a  most  effective  tool  for  training  and  turning  out  good 
teachers.  If  it  has  accomplished  so  much  when  working  unconsciously 
and  without  set  intention,  have  we  not  good  reason  to  believe  that, 
when  acquired  in  a  training  school  for  teachers — with  the  end  of  making 
teachers  held  definitely  in  view  and  with  conscious  reference  to  its 
relation  to  mental  activity — it  may  prove  a  much  more  valuable  peda- 
gogical asset  than  we  commonly  consider  it? 

Scholastic  knowledge  is  sometimes  regarded  as  if  it  were  something 
quite  irrelevant  to  method.  When  this  attitude  is  even  unconsciously 
assumed,  method  becomes  an  external  attachment  to  knowledge  of 
subject-matter.  It  has  to  be  elaborated  and  acquired  in  relative  inde- 
pendence from  subject-matter,  and  then  applied. 

Now  the  body  of  knowledge  which  constitutes  the  subject-matter 
of  the  student-teacher  must,  by  the  nature  of  the  case,  be  organized 


22  THE  THIRD  YEARBOOK 

subject-matter.  It  is  not  a  miscellaneous  heap  of  separate  scraps. 
Even  if  (as  in  the  case  of  history  and  literature),  it  be  not  technically 
termed  "science,"  it  is  none  the  less  material  which  has  been  subjected 
to  method  —  has  been  selected  and  arranged  with  reference  to  con- 
trolling intellectual  principles.  There  is,  therefore,  method  in  subject- 
matter  itself — method  indeed  of  the  highest  order  which  the  human 
mind  has  yet  evolved,  scientific  method. 

It  cannot  be  too  strongly  emphasized  that  this  scientific  method  is 
the  method  of  mind  itself.'  The  classifications,  interpretations,  expla- 
nations, and  generalizations  which  make  subject-matter  a  branch  of 
study  do  not  lie  externally  in  facts  apart  from  mind.  They  reflect  the 
attitudes  and  workings  of  mind  in  its  endeavor  to  bring  raw  material 
of  experience  to  a  point  where  it  at  once  satisfies  and  stimulates  the 
needs  of  active  thought.  Such  being  the  case,  there  is  something 
wrong  in  the  "academic"  side  of  professional  training,  if  by  means  of 
it  the  student  does  not  constantly  get  object-lessons  of  the  finest  type 
in  the  kind  of  mental  activity  which  characterizes  mental  growth  and, 
hence,  the  educative  process. 

It  is  necessary  to  recognize  the  importance  for  the  teacher's  equip- 
ment of  his  own  habituation  to  superior  types  of  method  of  mental 
operation.  The  more  a  teacher  in  the  future  is  likely  to  have  to  do 
with  elementary  teaching,  the  more,  rather  than  the  less,  necessary  is 
such  exercise.  Otherwise,  the  current  traditions  of  elementary  work 
with  their  tendency  to  talk  and  write  down  to  the  supposed  intellectual 
level  of  children,  will  be  likely  to  continue.  Only  a  teacher  thoroughly 
trained  in  the  higher  levels  of  intellectual  method  and  who  thus  has 
constantly  in  his  own  mind  a  sense  of  what  adequate  and  genuine  intel- 
lectual activity  means,  will  be  likely,  in  deed,  not  in  mere  word,  to 
respect  the  mental  integrity  and  force  of  children. 

Of  course,  this  conception  will  be  met  by  the  argument  that  the 
scientific  organization  of  subject-matter,  which  constitutes  the  academic 
studies  of  the  student-teacher  is  upon  such  a  radically  different  basis 
from  that  adapted  to  less  mature  students  that  too  much  pre-occupation 
with  scholarship  of  an  advanced  order  is  likely  actually  to  get  in  the 
way  of  the  teacher  of  children  and  youth.  I  do  not  suppose  anybody 
would  contend  that  teachers  really  can  know  more  than  is  good  for 

'Professor  Ella  F.  Young's  "Scientific  Method  in  Education"  {University  of 
Chicago  Decennial  Publications)  is  a  noteworthy  development  of  this  conception,  to 
which  I  am  much  indebted. 


RELATION  OF  THEORY  TO  PRACTICE  23 

them,  but  it  may  reasonably  be  argued  that  continuous  study  of  a  special- 
ized sort  forms  mental  habits  likely  to  throw  the  older  student  out 
of  sympathy  with  the  type  of  mental  impulses  and  habits  which  are 
found  in  younger  persons. 

Right  here,  however,  I  think  normal  schools  and  teachers'  colleges 
have  one  of  their  greatest  opportunities  —  an  opportunity  not  merely 
as  to  teachers  in  training,  but  also  for  reforming  methods  of  edu- 
cation in  colleges  and  higher  schools  having  nothing  to  do  with  the 
training  of  teachers.  It  is  the  business  of  normal  schools  and  collegiate 
schools  of  education  to  present  subject-matter  in  science,  in  language, 
in  literature  and  the  arts,  in  such  a  way  that  the  student  both  sees  and 
feels  that  these  studies  are  significant  embodiments  of  mental  operations. 
He  should  be  led  to  realize  that  they  are  not  products  of  technical 
methods,  which  have  been  developed  for  the  sake  of  the  specialized 
branches  of  knowledge  in  which  they  are  used,  but  represent  funda- 
mental mental  attitudes  and  operations — that,  indeed,  particular  scien- 
tific methods  and  classifications  simply  express  and  illustrate  in  their 
most  concrete  form  that  of  which  simple  and  common  modes  of  thought- 
activity  are  capable  when  they  work  under  satisfactory  conditions. 

In  a  word,  it  is  the  business  of  the  "academic"  instruction  of 
future  teachers  to  carry  back  subject-matter  to  its  common  psychical 
roots.*  In  so  far  as  this  is  accomplished,  the  gap  between  the  higher 
and  the  lower  treatment  of  subject-matter,  upon  which  the  argu- 
ment of  the  supposed  objector  depends,  ceases  to  have  the  force 
which  that  argument  assigns  to  it.  This  does  not  mean,  of  course, 
that  exactly  the  same  subject-matter,  in  the  same  mode  of  presenta- 
tion, is  suitable  to  a  student  in  the  elementary  or  high  schools  that  is 
appropriate  to  the  normal  student.  But  it  does  mean  that  a  mind 
which  is  habituated  to  viewing  subject-matter  from  the  standpoint  of 
the  function  of  that  subject-matter  in  connection  with  me/i fa/ responses, 
attitudes,  and  methods  will  be  sensitive  to  signs  of  intellectual  activity 
when  exhibited  in  the  child  of  four,  or  the  youth  of  sixteen,  and  will 
be  trained  to  a  spontaneous  and  unconscious  appreciation  of  the  subject- 
matter  which  is  fit  to  call  out  and  direct  mental  activity. 

We  have  here,  I  think,  the  explanation  of  the  success  of  some 
teachers  who  violate  every  law  known  to  and  laid  down  by  pedagogical 
science.     They  are  themselves  so  full  of  the  spirit  of  inquiry,  so  sensi- 

*  It  is  hardly  necessary  to  refer  to  Dr.  Harris's  continued  contention  that  normal 
training  should  give  a  higher  view  or  synthesis  of  even  the  most  elementary  subjects. 


24  THE  THIRD  YEARBOOK 

live  to  every  sign  of  its  presence  and  absence,  that  no  matter  what 
they  do,  nor  how  they  do  it,  they  succeed  in  awakening  and  inspiring 
like  alert  and  intense  mental  activity  in  those  with  whom  they  come  in 
contact. 

This  is  not  a  plea  for  the  prevalence  of  these  irregular,  inchoate 
methods.  But  I  feel  that  I  may  recur  to  my  former  remark  :  if  some 
teachers,  by  sheer  plenitude  of  knowledge,  keep  by  instinct  in  touch 
with  the  mental  activity  of  their  pupils,  and  accomplish  so  much 
without,  and  even  in  spite  of,  principles  which  are  theoretically 
sound,  then  there  must  be  in  this  same  scholarship  a  tremendous 
resource  when  it  is  more  consciously  used  —  that  is,  employed  in  clear 
connection  with  psychological  principles. 

When  I  said  above  that  schools  for  training  teachers  have  here  an 
opportunity  to  react  favorably  upon  general  education,  I  meant  that 
no  instruction  in  subject-matter  (wherever  it  is  given)  is  adequate  if  it 
leaves  the  student  with  just  acquisition  of  certain  information  about 
external  facts  and  laws,  or  even  a  certain  facility  in  the  intellectual 
manipulation  of  this  material.  It  is  the  business  of  our  higher  schools 
in  all  lines,  and  not  simply  of  our  normal  schools,  to  furnish  the 
student  with  the  realization  that,  after  all,  it  is  the  human  mind,  trained 
to  effective  control  of  its  natural  attitudes,  impulses,  and  responses, 
that  is  the  significant  thing  in  all  science  and  history  and  art  so  far  as 
these  are  formulated  for  purposes  of  study. 

The  present  divorce  between  scholarship  and  method  is  as  harmful 
upon  one  side  as  upon  the  other  —  as  detrimental  to  the  best  interests 
of  higher  academic  instruction  as  it  is  to  the  training  of  teachers. 
But  the  only  way  in  which  this  divorce  can  be  broken  down  is  by  so 
presenting  all  subject-matter,  for  whatever  ultimate,  practical,  or  pro- 
fessional purpose,  that  it  shall  be  apprehended  as  an  objective  embodi- 
ment of  methods  of  mind  in  its  search  for,  and  transactions  with,  the 
truth  of  things. 

Upon  the  more  practical  side,  this  principle  requires  that,  so  far  as 
students  appropriate  new  subject-matter  (thereby  improving  their  own 
scholarship  and  realizing  more  consciously  the  nature  of  method),  they 
should  finally  proceed  to  organize  this  same  subject-matter  with 
reference  to  its  use  in  teaching  others.  The  curriculum  of  the  ele- 
mentary and  the  high  school  constituting  the  ''practice"  or  "model" 
school  ought  to  stand  in  the  closest  and  most  organic  relation  to  the 
instruction  in  subject-matter  which  is  given    by  the  teachers  of   the 


RELATION  OF  THEORY  TO  PRACTICE  25 

professional  school.  If  in  any  given  school  this  is  not  the  case,  it 
is  either  because  in  the  training  class  subject-matter  is  presented  in  an 
isolated  way,  instead  of  as  a  concrete  expression  of  methods  of  mind, 
or  else  because  XhQ  practice  school  \^  dominated  by  certain  conventions 
and  traditions  regarding  material  and  the  methods  of  teaching  it,  and 
hence  is  not  engaged  in  work  of  an  adequate  educational  type. 

As  a  matter  of  fact,  as  everybody  knows,  both  of  these  causes  con- 
tribute to  the  present  state  of  things.  On  the  one  hand,  inherited 
conditions  impel  the  elementary  school  to  a  certain  triviality  and  pov- 
erty of  subject-matter,  calling  for  mechanical  drill,  rather  than  for 
thought-activity,  and  the  high  school  to  a  certain  technical  mastery  of 
certain  conventional  culture  subjects,  taught  as  independent  branches 
of  the  same  tree  of  knowledge  !  On  the  other  hand  traditions  of  the 
different  branches  of  science  (the  academic  side  of  subject-matter)  tend 
to  subordinate  the  teaching  in  the  normal  school  to  the  attainment  of 
certain  facilities,  and  the  acquirement  of  certain  information,  both  in 
greater  or  less  isolation  from  their  value  as  exciting  and  directing 
mental  power. 

The  great  need  is  convergence,  concentration.  Every  step  taken  in 
the  elementary  and  the  high  school  toward  intelligent  introduction 
of  more  worthy  and  significant  subject-matter,  one  requiring  con- 
sequently for  its  assimilation  thinking  rather  than  "  drill,"  must  be 
met  by  a  like  advance  step  in  which  the  mere  isolated  specialization  of 
collegiate  subject-matter  is  surrendered,  and  in  which  there  is  brought 
to  conscious  and  interested  attention  its  significance  in  expression  of 
fundamental  modes  of  mental  activity  —  so  fundamental  as  to  be  com- 
mon to  both  the  play  of  the  mind  upon  the  ordinary  material  of  every- 
day experience  and  to  the  systematized  material  of  the  sciences. 

III.  As  already  suggested,  this  point  requires  that  training  students 
be  exercised  in  making  the  connections  between  the  course  of  study  of 
the  practice  or  model  school,  and  the  wider  horizons  of  learning  com- 
ing within  their  ken.  But  it  is  consecutive  and  systematic  exercise  in 
the  consideration  of  the  subject-matter  of  the  elementary  and  high 
schools  that  is  needed.  The  habit  of  making  isolated  and  independent 
lesson  plans  for  a  few  days'  or  weeks'  instruction  in  a  separate  grade 
here  or  there  not  only  does  not  answer  this  purpose,  but  is  likely  to  be 
distinctly  detrimental.  Everything  should  be  discouraged  which  tends 
to  put  the  student  in  the  attitude  of  snatching  at  the  subject  matter 
which  he  is  acquiring  in  order  to  see  if  by  some  hook  or  crook  it  may 


26  THE  THIRD  YEARBOOK 

be  made  immediately  available  for  a  lesson  in  this  or  that  grade. 
What  is  needed  is  the  habit  of  viewing  the  entire  curriculum  as  a 
continuous  growth,  reflecting  the  growth  of  mind  itself.  This  in  turn 
demands,  so  far  as  I  can  see,  consecutive  and  longitudinal  considera- 
tion of  the  curriculum  of  the  elementary  and  high  school  rather  than 
a  cross-sectional  view  of  it.  The  student  should  be  led  to  see  that  the 
same  subject-matter  in  geography,  nature-study,  or  art  develops  not 
merely  day  to  day  in  a  given  grade,  but  from  year  to  year  throughout 
the  entire  movement  of  the  school ;  and  he  should  realize  this  before 
he  gets  much  encouragement  in  trying  to  adapt  subject-matter  in 
lesson  plans  for  this  or  that  isolated  grade. 

C.  If  we  attempt  to  gather  together  the  points  which  have  been 
brought  out,  we  should  have  a  view  of  practice  work  something  like 
the  following — though  I  am  afraid  even  this  formulates  a  scheme  with 
more  appearance  of  rigidity  than  is  desirable : 

At  first,  the  practice  school  would  be  used  mainly  for  purposes  of 
observation.  This  observation,  moreover,  would  not  be  for  the  sake 
of 'Seeing  how  good  teachers  teach,  or  for  getting  **  points"  which  may 
be  employed  in  one's  own  teaching,  but  to  get  material  for  psycho- 
logical observation  and  reflection,  and  some  conception  of  the  educa- 
tional movement  of  the  school  as  a  whole. 

Secondly,  there  would  then  be  more  intimate  introduction  to  the 
lives  of  the  children  and  the  work  of  the  school  through  the  use  as 
assistants  of  such  students  as  had  already  got  psychological  insight  and 
a  good  working  acquaintance  with  educational  problems.  Students 
at  this  stage  would  not  undertake  much  direct  teaching,  but  would 
make  themselves  useful  in  helping  the  regular  class  instructor.  There 
arc  multitudes  of  ways  in  which  such  help  can  be  given  and  be  of  real 
help — that  is,  of  use  to  the  school,  to  the  children,  and  not  merely  of 
putative  value  to  the  training  student."  Special  attention  to  backward 
children,  to  children  who  have  been  out  of  school,  assisting  in  the  care 
of  material,  in  forms  of  hand-work,  suggest  some  of  the  avenues  of 
approach. 

This  kind  of  practical  experience  enables,  in  the  third  place,  the 
future  teacher  to  make  the  transition  from  his  more  psychological  and 
theoretical  insight  to  the  observation  of  the  more  technical  points  of 

'This  question  of  some  real  need  in  the  practice  school  itself  for  the  work  done  is 
very  important  in  its  moral  influence  and  in  assimilating  the  conditions  of  "practice 
work  "  to  those  of  real  teaching. 


RELATION  OF  THEORY  TO  PRACTICE  27 

class  teaching  and  management.  The  informality,  gradualness,  and 
familiarity  of  the  earlier  contact  tend  to  store  the  mind  with  material 
which  is  unconsciously  assimilated  and  organized,  and  thus  supplies  a 
background  for  work  involving  greater  responsibility. 

As  a  counterpart  of  this  work  in  assisting,  such  students  might  well 
at  the  same  time  be  employed  in  the  selection  and  arrangement  of 
subject-matter,  as  indicated  in  the  previous  discussion.  Such  organiza- 
tion would  at  the  outset  have  reference  to  at  least  a  group  of  grades, 
emphasizing  continuous  and  consecutive  growth.  Later  it  might,  with- 
out danger  of  undue  narrowness,  concern  itself  with  finding  supple- 
mentary materials  and  problems  bearing  upon  the  work  in  which  the 
student  is  giving  assistance;  might  elaborate  material  which  could  be 
used  to  carry  the  work  still  farther,  if  it  were  desirable ;  or,  in  case  of 
the  more  advanced  students,  to  build  up  a  scheme  of  possible  alterna- 
tive subjects  for  lessons  and  studies. 

Fourthly,  as  fast  as  students  are  prepared  through  their  work  of 
assisting  for  more  responsible  work,  they  could  be  given  actual  teach- 
ing to  do.  Upon  the  basis  that  the  previous  preparation  has  been 
adequate  in  subject-matter,  in  educational  theory,  and  in  the  kind  of 
observation  and  practice  already  discussed,  such  practice  teachers 
should  be  given  the  maximum  amount  of  liberty  possible.  They  should 
not  be  too  closely  supervised,  nor  too  minutely  and  immediately  criti- 
cised upon  either  the  matter  or  the  method  of  their  teaching.  Stu- 
dents should  be  given  to  understand  that  they  not  only  are  permitted 
to  act  upon  their  own  intellectual  initiative,  but  that  they  are  expected 
to  do  so,  and  that  their  ability  to  take  hold  of  situations  for  themselves 
would  be  a  more  important  factor  in  judging  them  than  their  following 
any  particular  set  method  or  scheme. 

Of  course,  there  should  be  critical  discussion  with  persons  more 
expert  of  the  work  done,  and  of  the  educational  results  obtained.  But 
sufficient  time  should  be  permitted  to  allow  the  practice-teacher  to 
recover  from  the  shocks  incident  to  the  newness  of  the  situation,  and 
also  to  get  enough  experience  to  make  him  capable  of  seeing  \\iQ  funda- 
mental bearings  of  criticism  upon  work  done.  Moreover,  the  work  of 
the  expert  or  supervisor  should  be  directed  t©  getting  the  student  to 
judge  his  own  work  critically,  to  find  out  for  himself  in  what  respects 
he  has  succeeded  and  in  what  failed,  and  to  find  the  probable  reasons 
for  both  failure  and  success,  rather  than  to  criticising  him  too  defi- 
nitely and  specifically  upon  special  features  of  his  work. 


28  THE  THIRD   YEARBOOK 

It  ought  to  go  without  saying  (unfortunately,  it  does  not  in  all 
cases)  that  criticism  should  be  directed  to  making  the  professional 
student  thoughtful  about  his  work  in  the  light  of  principles,  rather 
than  to  induce  in  him  a  recognition  that  certain  special  methods  are 
good,  and  certain  other  special  methods  bad.  At  all  events,  no  greater 
travesty  of  real  intellectual  criticism  can  be  given  than  to  set  a  student 
to  teaching  a  brief  number  of  lessons,  have  him  under  inspection  in 
practically  all  the  time  of  every  lesson,  and  then  criticise  him  almost, 
if  not  quite,  at  the  very  end  of  each  lesson,  upon  the  particular  way  in 
which  that  particular  lesson  has  been  taught,  pointing  out  elements  of 
failure  and  of  success.  Such  methods  of  criticism  may  be  adapted  to 
giving  a  training-teacher  command  of  some  of  the  knacks  and  tools 
of  the  trade,  but  are  not  calculated  to  develop  a  thoughtful  and  inde- 
pendent teacher. 

Moreover,  while  such  teaching  (as  already  indicated)  should  be 
extensive  or  continuous  enough  to  give  the  student  time  to  become  at 
home  and  to  get  a  body  of  funded  experience,  it  ought  to  be  intensive 
in  purpose  rather  than  spread  out  miscellaneously.  It  is  much  more 
important  for  the  teacher  to  assume  responsibility  for  the  consecutive 
development  of  some  one  topic,  to  get  a  feeling  for  the  movement  of 
that  subject,  than  it  is  to  teach  a  certain  number  (necessarily  smaller 
in  range)  of  lessons  in  a  larger  number  of  subjects.  What  we  want, 
in  other  words,  is  not  so  much  technical  skill,  as  a  realizing  sense  in 
the  teacher  of  what  the  educational  development  of  a  subject  means, 
and,  in  some  typical  case,  command  of  a  method  of  control,  which 
will  then  serve  as  a  standard  for  self-judgment  in  other  cases. 

Fifthly,  if  the  practical  conditions  permit  —  if,  that  is  to  say,  the 
time  of  the  training  course  is  suflficiently  long,  if  the  practice  schools 
are  sufficiently  large  to  furnish  the  required  number  of  children,  and  to 
afford  actual  demand  for  the  work  to  be  done — students  who  have 
gone  through  the  stages  already  referred  to  should  be  ready  for  work 
of  the  distinctly  apprenticeship  type. 

Nothing  that  I  have  said  heretofore  is  to  be  understood  as  ruling 
out  practice-teaching  which  is  designed  to  give  an  individual  mastery 
of  the  actual  technique  of  teaching  and  management,  provided  school 
conditions  permit  it  in  reality  and  not  merely  in  external  form — pro- 
vided, that  is,  the  student  has  gone  through  a  training  in  educational 
theory  and  history,  in  subject-matter,  in  observation,  and  in  practice 
work  of  the  laboratory  type,  before    entering  upon   the  latter.     The 


RELATION  OF  THEORY  TO  PRACTICE  29 

teacher  must  acquire  his  technique  some  time  or  other;  and  if  condi- 
tions are  favorable,  there  are  some  advantages  in  having  this  acquisition 
take  place  in  cadetting  or  in  something  of  that  kind.  By  means  of  this 
probation,  persons  who  are  unfit  for  teaching  may  be  detected  and 
eliminated  more  quickly  than  might  otherwise  be  the  case  and  before 
their  cases  have  become  institutionalized. 

Even  in  this  distinctly  apprenticeship  stage,  however,  it  is  still 
important  that  the  student  should  be  given  as  much  responsibility  and 
initiative  as  he  is  capable  of  taking,  and  hence  that  supervision  should 
not  be  too  unremitting  and  intimate,  and  criticism  not  at  too  short 
range  or  too  detailed.  The  advantage  of  this  intermediate  probationary 
period  does  not  reside  in  the  fact  that  thereby  supervisory  officers  may 
turn  out  teachers  who  will  perpetuate  their  own  notions  and  methods, 
but  in  the  inspiration  and  enlightenment  that  come  through  prolonged 
contact  with  mature  and  sympathetic  persons.  If  the  conditions  in  the 
public  schools  were  just  what  they  ought  to  be,  if  all  superintendents 
and  principals  had  the  knowledge  and  the  wisdom  which  they  should 
have,  and  if  they  had  time  and  opportunity  to  utilize  their  knowledge 
and  their  wisdom  in  connection  with  the  development  of  the  younger 
teachers  who  come  to  them,  the  value  of  this  apprenticeship  period 
would  be  reduced,  I  think,  very  largely  to  its  serving  to  catch  in  time 
and  to  exclude  persons  unfitted  for  teaching, 

In  conclusion,  I  may  say  that  I  do  not  believe  that  the  principles 
presented  in  this  paper  call  for  anything  Utopian.  The  present  move- 
ment in  normal  schools  for  improvement  of  range  and  quality  of 
subject-matter  is  steady  and  irresistible.  All  the  better  classes  of  nor- 
mal schools  are  already,  in  effect,  what  are  termed  ''junior  colleges." 
That  is,  they  give  two  years'  work  which  is  almost,  and  in  many  cases 
quite,  of  regular  college  grade.  More  and  more,  their  instructors  are 
persons  who  have  had  the  same  kind  of  scholarly  training  that  is 
expected  of  teachers  in  colleges.  Many  of  these  institutions  are  already 
of  higher  grade  than  this;  and  the  next  decade  will  certainly  see  a 
marked  tendency  on  the  part  of  many  normal  schools  to  claim  the  right 
to  give  regular  collegiate  bachelor  degrees. 

The  type  of  scholarship  contemplated  in  this  paper  is  thus  practi- 
cally assured  for  the  near  future.  If  two  other  factors  co-operate  with 
this,  there  is  no  reason  why  the  conception  of  relation  of  theory  and 
practice  here  presented  should  not  be  carried  out.  The  second  neces- 
sary factor  is  that  the  elementary  and  high  schools,  which  serve  as 


30  THE  THIRD  YEARBOOK 

schools  of  observation  and  practice,  should  represent  an  advanced  type 
of  education  properly  corresponding  to  the  instruction  in  academic 
subject-matter  and  in  educational  theory  given  to  the  training  classes. 
The  third  necessity  is  that  work  in  psychology  and  educational  theory 
make  concrete  and  vital  the  connection  between  the  normal  instruction 
in  subject-matter  and  the  work  of  the  elementary  and  high  schools. 

If  it  should  prove  impracticable  to  realize  the  conception  herein  set 
forth,  it  will  not  be,  I  think,  because  of  any  impossibility  resident  in 
the  outward  conditions,  but  because  those  in  authority,  both  within 
and  without  the  schools,  believe  that  the  true  function  of  training 
schools  is  just  to  meet  the  needs  of  which  people  are  already  conscious. 
In  this  case,  of  course,  training  schools  will  be  conducted  simply  with 
reference  to  perpetuating  current  types  of  educational  practice,  with 
simply  incidental  improvement  in  details. 

The  underlying  assumption  of  this  paper  is,  accordingly,  that 
training  schools  for  teachers  do  not  perform  their  full  duty  in  accepting 
and  conforming  to  present  educational  standards,  but  that  educational 
leadership  is  an  indispensable  part  of  their  office.  The  thing  needful 
is  improvement  of  education,  not  simply  by  turning  out  teachers  who 
can  do  better  the  things  that  are  now  necessary  to  do,  but  rather  by 
changing  the  conception  of  what  constitutes  education. 


RELATION  OF  THEORY  TO  PRACTICE. 

Sarah  C.  Brooks, 
Baltimore,  Md, 

A  LATCH  key  was  given  me  recently,  with  instructions  as  to  its  use, 
by  the  lady  of  the  house.  As  she  inserted  the  key  and  opened  the 
door,  she  said:  "I  don't  know  whether  you  can  use  this  key,  for  it 
doesn't  always  behave.  If  you  push  it  in  too  far,  or  press  upon  it  with 
too  much  force,  it  will  not  unlock  the  door." 

While  accepting  the  doubtful  treasure  with  thanks,  I  humbly  made 
note  of  the  cautions  given,  resolving  to  exercise  the  greatest  care  in  its 
use.  When  that  closed  door  stood  between  me  and  lunch,  a  few  hours 
later,  and  I  essayed  to  enter  the  house,  my  first  efforts  failed,  because 
in  my  efforts  to  profit  by  instructions  I  neither  inserted  the  key  the 
required  distance  nor  turned  it  with  sufficient  power.  My  precon- 
ceived notions  were  lacking  when  put  to  the  test.  Repeated  experiments 
gave  the  proper  adjustment  at  last ;  but  with  the  experiments  came  a 
decided  modification  of  my  estimate  of  instructions  given.  Frequent 
use  has  made  me  familiar  with  all  the  aggravating  peculiarities  of  the 
key,  and  compelled  me  to  return  to  the  first  theory  of  adjustment.  If 
turning  it  over  to  a  stranger  to  use,  I  should  probably  give  the  same, 
directions  that  were  given  me. 

Now,  what  is  the  difference  between  the  theory  as  held  in  the  first 
case  and  in  the  second?  While  identical  in  form,  the  first  was  poor 
from  lack  of  judgment  in  interpreting  and  applying ;  the  second  is 
enriched  by  experience.  Between  the  two  lie  a  period  of  doubt  and 
uncertainty  as  to  the  value  of  the  instruction  given,  and  a  return  of 
confidence.  The  one  was  adopted  ;  the  other  has  been  proved.  The 
one  was  the  formulation  of  another's  experience ;  the  latter  is  my  own 
through  experience. 

The  incident,  while  of  no  value  in  itself,  affords  a  typical  illustra- 
tion of  the  relation  of  theory  to  practice  in  ordinary  life.  However 
efficient  instruction  may  be,  the  learner  is  almost  certain  to  go  wrong 
in  the  application  from  lack  of  ability  perfectly  to  interpret  and  apply; 
and  much  practice  is  necessary  to  bring  about  the  proper  adjustment. 
The  more  delicate  the  material  and  the  nicer  the  adjustment,  the  more 
practice  is  required  before  skill  is  attained. 

31 


32  THE  THIRD  YEARBOOK 

The  key  and  the  lock  afford  an  illustration  of  the  simplest  form  of 
problems,  because,  being  mechanical  contrivances  and  subject  to  fixed 
laws,  they  are  more  or  less  constant  in  action,  even  when  imperfectly 
adjusted.  Life  is  full  of  problems  of  a  much  more  complicated  char- 
acter, for  humanity  is  by  no  means  a  constant  quantity,  subject  to  fixed 
laws.  Among  these  complicated  problems  is  the  preparation  of  stu- 
dents for  the  profession  of  teaching. 

If  this  problem  were  as  simple  as  that  of  the  key  and  the  lock,  the 
practice  of  Dotheboys  Hall  would  answer  every  purpose,  and  Dickens 
would  have  lived  in  vain.  To  spell  *' horse"  and  then  proceed  to  curry 
him  covered  the  theoretical  and  the  practical  in  the  process  of  becom- 
ing familiar  with  this  branch  of  zoology  at  Dotheboys  Hall.  If  nothing 
were  necessary  but  a  slight  knowledge  of  the  subject-matter,  the  incipi- 
ent teacher  would  need  only  a  spelling  acquaintance  with  the  subjects 
to  be  taught,  and  then  proceed  to  teach.  Dotheboys  Hall  has  still  its 
disciples;  for  few  days  pass  without  some  query  as  to  the  value  of 
training  schools,  or  some  suggestion,  even  from  teachers,  of  the  supreme 
and  overmastering  importance  of  practice  in  the  preparation  for  teach- 
ing. Yet  among  intelligent  students  of  the  problem  of  teaching  there 
can  be  no  question  of  the  immense  importance  of  the  theory. 

The  point  of  danger  to  the  student  teacher  is  in  the  inadequate 
time  allowed  for  adjustment  of  practice  and  theory.  There  should  be 
leisure,  during  the  term  of  practice  or  afterward,  for  comparison  and 
explanation  of  experiences,  and  a  fresh  inspection  of  general  principles 
both  of  mental  development  and  of  pedagogy.  If  the  student  is  turned 
out  into  the  city  schools  before  this  adjustment  takes  place,  the  result 
is  a  distinct  loss  in  two  directions :  first,  to  the  schools  in  efficient 
work ;  and,  second,  to  the  young  teacher  in  the  time  spent  in  helpless 
floundering  in  what  too  frequently  proves  to  be  a  veritable  slough  of 
despond.  It  may  be  years  before  a  professional  attitude  toward  the 
work  is  finally  attained  ;  and  many  drop  out  of  the  ranks  because  of 
these  early  discouragements.  Mark  Twain  says  that  his  first  lesson  in 
piloting  a  boat  was  received  on  the  way  from  New  Orleans  to  St. 
Louis,  and  that  he  took  the  greatest  pains  to  impress  upon  his  mind 
the  various  sand  bars,  shifting  currents,  appearances  of  islands,  bends 
of  shore,  and  what  not ;  but  when  the  boat  was  headed  down  the  stream 
everything  presented  such  a  different  aspect  that  he  had  to  learn  the 
lesson  the  other  way  around.  The  young  teacher's  experience  is  some- 
what similar  to  that  of  the  gifted  pilot.     Fortunate  for  her  if  both 


RELATION  OF  THEORY  TO  PRACTICE  33 

lessons  are  learned  while  she  is  still  within  the  training  school,  where  per- 
plexities and  doubts  may  be  cleared  away,  and  apparent  contradictions 
are  reconciled  by  means  of  sympathetic  explanation  and  exposition. 

Omitting  the  question  of  natural  aptitude,  the  importance  and 
elusiveness  of  which  none  will  deny,  it  may  be  well  to  inquire  into  the 
causes  which  complicate  the  training-school  problem,  and  to  discuss 
ways  and  means  of  securing  the  most  satisfactory  results  under  the 
circumstances. 

The  first  element  of  complication,  and  the  element  upon  which 
all  other  things  depend,  is  that  of  time  devoted  to  training.  Accept- 
ing students  on  the  scholarship  basis  of  a  high-school  course,  the  time 
varies,  according  to  schools  and  localities,  from  one  to  two  years,  with 
a  large  balance  on  the  side  of  a  one-year  course.  Sometimes  a  two- 
year  course  includes  the  last  year  of  the  high  school,  during  which  time 
certain  professional  studies  are  pursued,  or  certain  reviews  given  in 
preparation  for  the  regular  training-school  year. 

Now,  if  the  fourth  year  of  the  high  school  be  devoted  to  studies 
which  shall  prepare  certain  students  for  the  training  school,  it  is  worth 
while  to  consider  which  branches  will  prove  most  helpful  when  the 
professional  work  really  begins. 

Proceeding  by  elimination,  first  of  all,  psychology  and  the  history  of 
education  are  basic  professional  studies  of  such  value  that  no  teacher 
of  theory  would  be  willing  to  have  them  divorced  from  pedagogy.  The 
laws  of  presentation  are  ordained  by  the  laws  of  mental  development, 
and  must  be  present  at  the  same  time  in  the  consciousness  of  the  stu- 
dent. A  knowledge  of  the  progress  of  educational  theory  and  the  growth 
and  development  of  the  course  of  study  should  be  presented  at  the 
same  time  with,  or  under  the  same  conditions  as,  those  under  which  the 
theories  of  presentation  are  given.  Psychology  especially  calls  for  an 
attitude  of  mind  not  at  all  compatible  with  the  manifold  interests,  dis- 
tractions, and  pleasing  excitements  incidental  to  graduation  year  in 
the  high  school.  Psychology  calls  for  reflection,  for  subjective  and 
objective  study  and  experiment,  and  these  require  a  professional  atmos- 
phere in  which  to  thrive. 

Secondly,  teachers  are  required,  more  and  more,  to  be  thinkers,  to 
reserve  judgment,  and  encourage  pupils  to  do  so  until  testimony 
accumulates  in  any  given  case  —  to  experiment,  to  observe.  Nature- 
study  is  an  accepted  topic  in  our  present  course  of  study,  and  the  teacher 
must  have  first-hand  acquaintance  with  nature  before  she  can  present 


34  THE  THIRD  YEARBOOK 

the  various  phases  of  the  subject  to  children.  For  these  reasons  biol- 
ogy is  one  of  the  most  important  subjects  for  the  high-school  student 
looking  toward  a  professional  career.  The  free  use  of  a  laboratory  in 
the  study  of  any  science  is  a  modern  necessity,  not  only  for  the  sake  of 
the  student,  but,  looking  to  the  future,  if  the  student  hopes  to  become 
a  teacher,  for  the  sake  of  enlightened  methods  of  presentation  to  children. 

As  a  means  of  saving  time  in  the  professional  year,  and  also  of 
refreshing  memory  in  preparation  for  pedagogical  treatment,  there 
should  be  a  review  of  the  elementary  branches  and  physiology,  if  the 
latter  has  not  been  previously  presented  in  the  high-school  course.  A 
general  survey  of  subjects  at  this  time  which  were  necessarily  presented 
piecemeal  through  the  grades,  does  much  to  unify  the  topics  of  the 
various  subjects.  This,  of  course,  would  be  just  as  true  if  the  reviews 
should  be  given  in  the  training  school  as  in  the  high  school ;  but,  as  we 
shall  see  later,  the  training-school  program  is  crowded  even  with  the 
omission  of  elementary  reviews. 

Therefore,  from  my  point  of  view,  those  subjects  to  be  presented 
during  the  fourth  year  of  the  high  school  most  helpful  to  the  training 
are  biology,  physiology,  and  a  review  of  the  elementary  branches.  I 
would  not  be  put  upon  record  as  limiting  science  to  biology  and  physi- 
ology, for  the  attitude  of  mind  induced  by  a  right  study  of  science  is 
of  untold  value  to  the  teacher;  and  consequently  there  is  nothing  more 
desirable  than  a  scientific  training,  if  I  may  use  the  term  in  that  sense. 
Both  physics  and  chemistry,  studied  upon  the  laboratory  plan,  are 
exceedingly  valuable  to  the  teacher.  English  literature,  the  languages, 
mathematics,  are  all,  likewise,  essential,  but  presupposed  in  a  regular 
high-school  course.  I  am  not  so  sure,  either,  of  the  value  of  elective 
courses  in  the  high  school,  if  the  young  students  themselves  are  to  be 
the  judges  ;  for  it  not  infrequently  happens  that  one  is  led  to  regret  the 
loss  of  the  training  and  preparation  of  certain  life-experiences  incidental 
to  the  study  of  subjects  excluded,  by  immature  judgment,  from  the 
course  to  be  pursued.  But  this  is  far  afield ;  considering  the  training- 
school  period  proper,  the  disposition  of  time  varies  as  greatly  as  does 
the  amount  of  time  given  to  the  course  in  various  localities.  In  some 
cases  one  year  of  consecutive  work  is  devoted  to  theory  and  five  months 
to  practice  in  the  ward  schools  under  a  director  of  practice.  In  other 
cases,  after  the  expiration  of  the  term  of  training,  including  practice 
under  supervision  in  the  practice  schools,  the  students  are  required  to 
teach  four  months  in  the  ward  schools  without  the  assistance  and  criti- 
cism of  a  critic-teacher. 


RELATION  OF  THEORY  TO  PRACTICE  35 

Still  Other  schools,  notably  normal,  as  distinguished  from  the  ordi- 
nary city  training  school,  devote  two  full  years  to  the  course,  receiving 
students  upon  a  scholarship  basis  of  high-school  graduation.  These 
schools  vary  in  time  and  amount  of  practice  afforded  each  student. 
Some  devote  the  first  year  entirely  to  theory  and  observation,  and  the 
second  year  largely  to  practice.  That  is,  each  student  teaches  at  least 
one  hour  a  day,  giving  attention  to  but  one  subject  at  a  time,  and  pre- 
senting that  subject  to  but  one  grade  at  a  time.  When  the  term  of 
practice,  which  may  be  five  or  ten  weeks,  expires,  the  student  may 
present  the  same  subject  to  another  grade,  or  present  a  different  sub- 
ject, as  the  case  may  seem  to  require.  At  least  one  other  normal 
school  devotes  a  portion  of  each  day  of  the  two-year  term  to  practice. 
The  practice  work  is  under  the  supervision  of  certain  members  of  the 
faculty,  and  the  plan  provides  that  new  students  shall  act  first  as  assist- 
ants to  older  or  more  experienced,  and  later  be  given  charge  of  rooms 
for  a  specified  period  each  day.  The  new  and  inexperienced  students 
are  thus  strengthened  and  assured  by  observing  and  assisting  the  work 
of  one  more  experienced. 

Other  training  schools  having  a  one-year  course,  from  lack  of  facil- 
ities, size  of  classes,  limit  of  time,  or  other  reasons,  divide  classes  into 
sections,  each  of  which,  in  turn,  is  sent  to  practice  under  expert  direc- 
tion. In  some  cases  the  practice  is  given  in  various  ward  schools  in 
which  are  provided  classes  under  the  care  of  a  critic-teacher.  Some- 
times the  term  of  practice  is  completed  in  a  central  building  housing 
the  two  branches  of  theory  and  practice.  Again,  part  of  the  students 
practice  in  the  central  building,  and  part  in  the  ward  schools.  This 
plan  is  due,  perhaps,  to  lack  of  facilities  in  the  central  building,  or  it 
may  be  from  the  desire  to  scatter  classes  which  are  under  the  care  of 
students,  and  so  distribute  the  discomforts  due  to  fault-finding  on  the 
part  of  parents.  The  term  of  practice  varies  from  eight  to  twelve  weeks 
or  more,  according  to  circumstances.  For  economic  reasons,  this 
division  frequently  necessitates  sending  students  to  practice  who  have 
had  no  training  in  theory,  unless  arrangements  are  made  for  two 
entrance  periods  yearly  to  the  training  school. 

The  next  complication  in  the  problem  of  training  is  in  connection 
with  the  studies  pursued  by  students  during  the  time  at  their  disposal. 
These  studies  have  been  suggested,  in  part  at  least,  under  the  high- 
school  phase  of  scholastic  preparation  for  the  training  school.  First 
in  the  list  stands  psychology,  with  both  subjective  and  objective  studies 


36  THE  THIRD  YEARBOOK 

of  children.  History  of  education,  pedagogy,  and  school  management 
follow  in  the  order  of  importance.  Pedagogy  is  a  title  which  includes 
a  number  of  subjects.  In  its  first  aspect,  of  general  method,  it  is  inti- 
mately associated  with  psychology.  In  its  second  aspect  of  special 
method,  it  deals  more  directly  with  the  actual  presentation  of  subjects 
in  the  schoolroom,  and  gives  opportunity  for  much  illustrative  teaching. 
It  includes  nature-study,  children's  literature,  drawing,  and  music,  as 
well  as  the  elementary  branches.  Some  of  the  richest  and  most  prac- 
tical experiences  of  the  professional  term  are  the  direct  outcome  of 
special  method. 

I  have  not  found  the  subject  of  enthusiasm  in  any  text-book  which 
can  be  placed  in  the  hands  of  students,  but  it  is  a  fact  beyond  dispute 
that  enthusiasm  is  one  of  the  most  important  subjects  considered. 
Like  charity,  one  may  have  all  the  other  qualities  and  yet,  lacking 
enthusiasm,  is  nothing  in  the  educational  world.  It  does  not  appear 
on  any  program  or  in  any  course  of  study,  yet  it  not  only  is  an  essential 
qualification  of  the  teacher,  but  requires  time  for  cultivation. 

What  is  the  least  time  that  can  be  devoted  with  profit  to  these 
studies,  provided  there  is  one  year  given  to  professional  training? 
What  a  pity,  too,  that  in  school  matters,  matters  pertaining  to  the 
training  of  that  which  is  imperishable,  we  must  always  ask  for  the  least 
rather  than  for  what  is  adequate  ! 

A  year  is  none  too  much  for  theoretical  preparation ;  but  by  keeping 
up  steam  and  filling  the  program  with  recitations,  instead  of  providing 
periods  of  alternating  rest  and  study  each  day,  or  periods  of  observa- 
tion of  grade  work,  the  ground  can  be  covered  in  seven  months.  In 
the  hurry  to  accomplish  a  necessary  amount  of  work  in  a  given  time  we 
frequently  lose  sight  of  the  educational  importance  of  a  little  leisure, 
and  yet  it  is  one  of  the  essential  conditions  of  perfect  comprehension. 
Seven  months  devoted  to  theory  leaves  an  aggregate  of  three  months 
for  practice  ;  and  the  conditions  under  which  the  practice  is  given  have 
much  to  do  with  the  degree  of  benefit  accruing  to  the  individual 
student.  It  is,  therefore,  exceedingly  important  that  the  practice 
school  be  so  organized  and  situated  as  to  afford  both  teachers  and 
students  the  best  possible  conditions  for  work.  In  order  to  know 
what  these  conditions  are,  it  is  necessary  to  know  the  specific  needs  of 
the  student. 

First,  in  connection  with  a  study  of  the  theory  of  presentation,  and 
later  when  practice  begins,  there  is  urgent  need  of  observation  of  the 


RELATION  OF  THEORY  TO  PRACTICE  37 

work  of  a  skilled  teacher.  The  "what  "and  the  "how,"  however  well 
presented  theoretically,  need  the  anchcft-  of  practical  illustration  with 
pupils  of  a  given  degree  of  advancement.  Then,  when  students  begin 
to  teach  they  need  to  observe  the  work  of  a  skilful  teacher  who  fur- 
nishes a  model  by  which  they  are  enabled,  in  a  measure,  to  "true" 
their  own  imperfect  efforts. 

Secondly,  the  students  need  direct  daily  contact  with  children  while 
studying  the  laws  of  mental  development  and  of  the  presentation  of 
subject-matter.  The  period  from  childhood  to  maturity  is  so  full  and 
rich  of  experiences,  so  marvelous  with  both  physical  and  mental  devel- 
opment, so  roseate  with  dreams,  hopes,  and  aspirations,  that  the  student 
of  eighteen  or  twenty  is  completely  out  of  touch,  ordinarily,  v>'ith  chil- 
dren. Life  has  been  so  strenuous  as  to  afford  no  time  for  intimate 
associations  with  the  outgrown  self  of  childhood.  Consequently,  the 
incipient  teacher  must  now  be  encouraged  to  renew  acquaintance  with 
the  past  self  and  to  observe  children  daily.  Intelligent  sympathy  with 
the  needs  and  tendencies  of  children  is  one  of  the  first  qualifications 
of  the  teacher;  and  the  parent,  for  that  matter. 

Thirdly,  there  must  be  opportunity  for  actual  practice  in  teaching 
and  in  the  care  of  a  room ;  and  this  work  should  be  done  under  the 
most  encouraging  conditions  possible  to  the  student  —  necessarily  sub- 
ject to  criticism  from  those  who  have  the  supervision  of  her  work ;  for 
this  is  the  proving-ground  of  the  teacher;  she  is  timid  and  doubtful 
of  her  own  powers,  as  a  usual  thing.  She  is  also  subject  to  criticism, 
of  a  less  intelligent  character  from  the  pupils,  who  have  been  fed  from 
the  pedagogical  spoon  until  they  have  grown  critical  even  of  the  way 
it  is  presented,  not  to  mention  the  quality  of  the  food  it  contains.  It 
is  therefore  important  that  an  air  of  dignity  and  a  feeling  of  confidence 
be  established  first  of  all,  for  the  sake  of  both  student-teacher  and 
pupils.  The  slightest  neglect  of  these  precautions  is  unfortunate  in 
its  effects,  however  trivial  they  may  seem. 

The  term  of  practice  should  furnish  as  much  variety  of  teaching 
experience  as  possible,  and  also  opportunity  to  learn  something  of  the 
details  of  managing  a  room.  The  management  of  a  room  calls  for 
many  more  qualifications  than  that  of  successfully  conducting  a  recita- 
tion, important  as  we  acknowledge  that  to  be.  The  order  of  exercises 
for  the  day,  change  of  classes,  seat  work,  temperature  of  the  room,  dis- 
cipline, make  constant  and  insistent  demands  upon  the  teacher's  time 
and  judgment,  and  every  detail  must  be  settled  before  we  pronounce  the 
aspirant  ready  for  regular  work  in  the  city  schools. 


38  THE  THIRD  YEARBOOK 

It  is  therefore  important  that  the  term  of  practice  include  two 
phases :  first,  variety  of  teaching  experience,  and,  second,  concentra- 
tion of  energy  in  the  mastery  of  the  details  in  connection  with  the 
management  of  a  room  and  the  daily  preparation  of  all  lessons.  In  a 
period  of  twelve  weeks,  five  weeks  may  be  given  to  the  first  phase  and 
seven  to  the  second,  apportioning  the  time  in  accordance  with  the 
demands  made  upon  the  student-teacher  by  the  second  phase.  But 
even  under  the  best  of  conditions  a  twelve-week  period  of  practice  is 
not  long  enough  to  meet  the  various  needs  of  the  student-teacher. 

Now,  in  actual  practice  in  the  various  training  schools  of  the  coun- 
try, so  far  as  I  have  been  able  to  learn,  either  one  phase  or  the  other  is 
made  prominent ;  and  in  many  cases  one  or  other  phase  occupies  the 
entire  period.  The  neglect  of  either  causes  a  distinct  loss  to  the  young 
teacher,  although  insuring  a  greater  amount  of  proficiency  in  the  other 
direction. 

Take  the  case  of  a  school  whose  course  covers  two  years.  Suppose 
the  practice  to  cover  a  period  of  forty  weeks,  the  student  teaching  one 
period  daily.  This  would  afford  opportunity  of  presenting  one  sub- 
ject to  any  one  grade  for  another  period  of  five  weeks.  In  this  way 
one  subject  may  be  presented  to  all  grades  in  the  practice  school ;  or, 
during  the  same  period,  different  subjects  may  be  presented  to  the 
various  grades,  the  plan  varying  according  to  conditions.  The  value 
of  such  an  arrangement  as  this  is  apparent,  acquainting  the  student  with 
the  various  divisions  of  the  subject-matter,  and  the  necessary  modifica- 
tions in  presenting  these  to  the  different  grades.  Unless  provision  is 
made,  however,  for  the  practice  in  school  management,  the  efficiency 
of  the  plan  is  lessened  somewhat. 

Where  students  spend  three,  or  even  five,  months  quietly  in  one 
room,  teaching,  observing,  and  managing  the  various  requirements  of 
the  day,  in  any  one  grade,  they  leave  the  practice  school  at  the  close 
of  the  period  proficient  in  the  work  of  that  grade,  and  more  or  less 
settled  as  to  convictions,  according  to  the  circumstances  under  which 
the  practice  was  conducted.  If  these  students  can  be  appointed  to  cor- 
responding grades  in  the  ward  schools,  their  experience  will  prove 
beneficial  to  themselves  and  to  the  city.  If,  however,  the  opposite 
course  is  pursued,  the  results  are  disastrous,  because  the  young  teacher 
lacks  perspective.  It  is  vain  to  urge  that  the  teaching  spirit  is  the  same 
in  all  grades.  That  water  has  power  to  float  a  human  body  is  of  no 
particular  value  as  a  physical  fact  to  a  drowning  man.     Give  a  student 


RELATION  OF  THEORY  TO  PRACTICE  3^ 

practice  for  three  or  five  months  in  the  first  grade,  and  then  appoint 
her  to  the  third  grade ;  or  give  practice  in  the  fifth,  and  then  appoint 
to  the  first ;  and  you  behold,  usually,  the  floundering  of  a  drowning 
man.  Results  are  disastrous,  not  only  so  far  as  the  work  is  concerned, 
but  in  a  far  sadder  way,  to  the  young  teacher  herself,  in  unsettling  her 
mind  regarding  the  value  of  previous  instruction  and  experience. 

Any  real  or  apparent  disparity  between  the  principles  deduced  in 
the  study  of  psychology  and  pedagogy,  and  their  application  in  prac- 
tice, or  any  lack  of  harmony  between  the  departments  of  theory  and 
practice,  is  unfortunate  for  the  student-teacher  who  has  little  power  of 
adjustment  from  lack  of  experience.  It  has  much  the  same  effect  as  that 
produced  in  the  primary  school  when  the  home  interests  are  ignored 
or  slighted.  A  soul  cannot  develop  steadily  and  perfectly  without  a 
harmonious  adjustment  of  relations.  For  this  reason,  it  is  incumbent 
on  the  two  departments  to  work  together  for  the  attainment  of  the  one 
end  in  view.  In  all  other  matters  admitting  of  a  variety  of  opinion 
the  utmost  care  and  the  utmost  consideration  should  be  exercised. 

The  final  need  of  the  student-teacher  is  that  of  participation  in 
critic  meetings — meetings  in  which  there  is  both  constructive  and 
destructive  criticism.  To  be  of  the  greatest  benefit,  the  student  should 
meet  here,  not  only  with  practice  teachers,  but  with  teachers  of  theory 
as  well.  The  most  fruitful  source  of  discussion  in  these  meetings,  of 
course,  is  the  illustrative  lesson,  in  the  process  of  which  it  has  been  the 
purpose  of  the  teacher  to  show  the  application  of  some  principle  of 
pedagogy.  All  parties  participating  in  the  discussion  after  the  lesson 
is  concluded,  the  student  begins  to.  feel  part  of  a  whole  body  of  seek- 
ers after  truth,  be  that  body  great  or  small.  She  also  sees  the  real 
meaning  of  criticism  as  applying  to  her  own  efforts.  If  what  she  does 
is  in  accordance  with  general  principles,  her  work  is  commended;  if 
not,  someone  is  ready  to  point  out  the  errors  and  suggest  a  remedy,  as 
far  as  possible.  If  she  is  brainy  and  capable,  she  responds  to  the  stimu- 
lus and  improves  in  her  teaching.  These  meetings  react  in  a  whole- 
some manner  upon  the  training  teachers  also.  Personally  I  know  of 
no  greater  stimulus  to  teaching,  nor  of  a  more  wholesome  check  to 
idiosyncrasies  of  every  kind,  than  this  form  of  critic  meeting. 

We  have  determined  the  needs  of  the  student-teacher,  in  her  term 
of  practice,  to  be  observation  of  model  lessons;  direct  contact  with 
children  for  purposes  of  study  and  of  reviving  past  states  of  mind; 
and  actual  practice  in  teaching  which  shall  give  variety  of  experience 


40  THE  THIRD  YEARBOOK 

and  at  the  same  time  a  knowledge  of  the  management  of  some  one 
grade  or  class.  We  have  also  decided  thai  a  unit  of  experience,  so  far 
as  theory  and  practice  are  concerned,  is  most  desirable  for  the  student. 
Our  next  and  last  question  concerns  the  manner  in  which  all  these 
needs  may  be  met.  What  disposition  shall  be  made  of  the  practice  ? 
Shall  it  be  distributed  among  the  various  ward  schools  under  compe- 
tent critic-teachers,  or  shall  both  the  theory  and  the  practice  be  in  one 
building. 

Distributing  the  practice  among  the  various  ward  schools  has  some 
distinct  advantages.  Among  these  are  a  greater  variety  of  working 
models,  as  afforded  by  the  examples  of  the  critic-teachers  of  the  various 
localities,  who  have  little  opportunity  to  compare  work,  and  are  com- 
paratively free  from  any  dominating  influence  that  might  be  felt  if  all 
were  collected  in  one  building  and  under  one  head. 

By  this  arrangement,  also,  the  training  school  has  numerous  points 
of  contact  with  the  city  schools,  thereby  affording  more  opportunities 
for  sharing  with  the  city  teachers  whatever  good  may  accrue  to  the 
training  school  from  the  combined  study  and  efforts  of  its  various 
members. 

With  only  two  or  four  practice  rooms  in  any  one  locality,  the 
discomfort  of  complaints  of  parents  on  account  of  the  supposed  unsat- 
isfactory work  done  in  critic  classes  is  reduced  to  a  minimum.  This 
consideration  is  scarcely  worth  noting ;  for,  as  every  experienced  person 
knows,  these  classes  compare  most  favorably,  in  the  long  run,  with 
those  taught  by  regular  teachers.  The  critic-teacher,  who  is  always 
selected  for  superior  qualifications,  sees  to  it  that  children  do  not  lose 
in  the  change  of  student-teachers,  or  in  the  event  of  unsatisfactory  work 
by  the  student-teachers. 

The  distinct  disadvantages  to  distributed  practice  are  these : 

Isolation  does  away  with  that  indefinable,  but  necessary,  something 
we  call  a  professional  atmosphere,  which  is  possible  only  where  numbers 
are  working  together,  and  are  in  such  accord  with  each  other  that  unity 
of  purpose  and  enthusiasm  are  everywhere  and  at  all  times  in  evidence. 
It  is  as  necessary  to  the  incipient  teacher  as  sunshine  and  moisture  are 
to  the  incipient  tree. 

Observation  of  grade  work,  except  in  the  case  of  the  class  immedi- 
ately under  her  charge,  ceases  with  the  term  of  theory.  She  is  then 
confined  to  one  set  of  experiences  until  the  expiration  of  her  period  of 
practice.     She  has  no  opportunity  to  practice  in  the  different  grades, 


RELATION  OF  THEORY  TO  PRACTICE  41 

and  consequently  must  lose  the  good  accruing  from  a  broad  experience 
in  teaching.     In  other  words,  she  will  know  but  one  grade  or  class. 

Critic  meetings  whose  distinctive  feature  is  the  illustrative  lesson 
are  an  impossibility.  The  classes  are  so  widely  dispersed  that  meetings 
must  be  conducted  after  school,  when  children  are  no  longer  in  the 
building;  or,  if  held  for  the  meeting,  are  subject  to  unnatural  condi- 
tions, which  place  both  themselves  and  the  teacher  at  a  decided 
disadvantage.  Teachers  and  students  are  wearied  with  the  day's  work, 
and  enthusiasm  is  thereby  reduced  to  the  minimum. 

It  may  also  be  necessary,  for  reasons  incidental  to  organization, 
while  a  mutual  understanding  is  being  established  and  the  course  of 
study  considered,  that  student-  and  critic-teachers  have  separate 
meetings.  Here  the  separation  sometimes  reacts  in  misunderstanding 
of  suggestions  and  criticisms  given  when  the  students  assemble  for 
critic  work  ;  for  it  is  not  often  possible  for  the  critic-teacher  to  attend 
both  meetings. 

Supervision  is  rendered  difficult  and  unsatisfactory,  the  more  so  as 
the  schools  are  widely  separated.  While  it  is  both  the  duty  and  the 
pleasure  of  principal  and  assistants  to  visit  the  critic  classes,  many 
duties  make  inroads  upon  time;  and  the  various  customs  regarding 
general  exercises,  sewing,  manual  training,  teachers'  meetings,  and  the 
like,  in  spite  of  the  fact  that  arrangements  are  made  to  prevent  conflict, 
render  a  portion  of  the  actual  visits  abortive.  A  consensus  of  opinion 
is  always  possible  and  profitable,  but  no  one  visitor  feels  that  the 
results  personally  are  in  any  sense  commensurate  with  the  effort  put 
forth  and  the  energy  expended.  Where  it  is  possible  to  have  the  super- 
vision in  the  care  of  one  person,  results  are  more  satisfactory. 

Last  of  all,  there  is  no  adequate  opportunity  to  work  out  a  course  of 
study  where  classes  are  isolated.  The  necessity  of  a  separate  course  of 
study  for  the  practice  school  is  in  some  cases  essential  to  a  unit  of 
instruction  for  the  student-teachers.  Under  any  circumstances  it  must 
have  points  of  contact  with  that  of  the  city  schools,  but  may  vary  in 
some  essential  features.  Suppose  a  third  grade  to  be  in  the  hands  of 
critic-  and  student-teachers.  Previous  to  this  period  the  regular  course 
of  study  has  been  followed.  Succeeding  work  will  come  from  the  same 
source.  What  foundation  and  what  perspective  has  any  departure  in 
this  present  year  from  established  customs  ?  A  brave  effort  may  be  put 
forth  by  all  parties  concerned  ;  but  here  again  results  are  not  commen- 
surate with  the  time  and  energy  expended. 


42  THE  THIRD  YEARBOOK 

Where  schools  of  both  theory  and  practice  are  housed  in  one  build- 
ing there  is  always  the  danger  of  a  deadly  sameness  in  ideals  and  of 
practice  ;  and  danger,  too,  of  self-satisfaction.  Self-satisfaction  means 
mental  inertia,  and  nothing  is  a  greater  menace  to  progress.  This  may 
be  obviated  in  great  measure  by  the  active  co-operation  of  all  mem- 
bers of  the  faculty.  Study  and  independent  thinking,  with  good- 
natured  freedom  of  expression,  will  do  wonders  in  keeping  the  spirit 
of  originality  alive ;  and  these  activities  are  easily  encouraged. 

The  question  of  dissatisfaction  of  parents  is  met  in  every  city  sup- 
porting a  training  school  for  teachers ;  and,  while  unpleasant,  it  is  not 
unanswerable  nor  unreconcilable. 

The  unified  training  school  certainly  does  afford  fewer  points  of 
contact  with  the  city  schools,  but  it  may,  by  the  very  fact  of  its  unified 
life,  have  greater  richness  of  results  and  of  suggestion  to  present  to 
those  who  visit  the  building. 

The  distinct  advantages  of  the  unified  school,  on  the  other  hand,  are 
as  follows : 

It  affords  frequent  and  varied  opportunities  for  observation  of 
expert  teaching. 

Students  are  placed  in  direct  contact  with  children  of  the  various 
grades  before  beginning  to  teach. 

They  have  opportunity  to  practice  in  the  different  grades,  thus 
gaining  variety  of  experience  in  presenting  work  to  children  of  differ- 
ent degrees  of  advancement. 

They  have  the  benefit  of  participating  in  the  discussions  based  upon 
illustrative  lessons,  and  of  all  other  phases  of  discussion  incidental  to 
critic  meetings. 

It  is  possible  in  the  one-building  plan  to  create  an  atmosphere  con- 
ducive to  growth  and  to  unity  of  purpose.  This  condition  is  most 
essential  to  the  right  development  of  the  young  teacher. 

For  the  same  reason,  a  course  of  study  for  practice  schools  is 
possible  from  the  fact  that  it  has  both  foundation  and  perspective. 

If,  therefore,  as  I  believe,  the  foregoing  conditions  are  necessary  in 
order  that  the  best  possible  results  may  accrue  to  the  student-teacher 
in  her  inadequate  term  of  practice,  a  one-building  plan  is  essential, 
under  ordinary  circumstances,  to  the  harmonious  and  effective  workings 
of  the  schools  of  theory  and  practice. 


THEORY  AND  PRACTICE  AT  TEACHERS  COLLEGE, 
COLUMBIA  UNIVERSITY. 

COMPLEX  NATURE  OF  TEACHERS  COLLEGE. 

The  extremely  complex  nature  of  Teachers  College  renders  any 
discussion  of  the  above  theme  peculiarly  difficult.  Students  may  enter 
the  college  as  freshmen,  specialize  in  Education  the  last  two  years  of  a 
four-year  course,  and  receive  a  B.S.  degree  in  Education.  They  may 
then  continue  their  studies  three  years  longer  until  the  degree  of  Ph.D. 
in  Education  is  received. 

The  undergraduate  two-year  professional  courses  prepare  students 
for  teaching  in  the  kindergarten,  the  elementary  school,  or  the  second- 
ary school,  or  for  teaching  domestic  art,  domestic  science,  fine  arts, 
manual  training,  music,  or  physical  education,  in  both  schools.  The 
graduate  courses  allow  more  advanced  work  in  any  of  these  lines,  and 
for  the  work  of  supervision  and  administration. 

Thus  a  student  may  spend  seven  years  at  the  college  in  preparation 
for  educational  work,  five  of  which  are  devoted  to  professional  study; 
or,  in  accordance  with  his  previous  training  and  the  special  line  which 
he  has  chosen,  he  may  spend  only  one  year  there.  It  is  evident  from 
these  facts  that  it  is  very  difficult  to  make  statements  that  apply  to  all 
students  completing  a  course,  and  to  all  grades  of  work. 

COURSES    IN    EDUCATION    VERSUS    ACADEMIC    OR    SUBJECT-MATTER 

COURSES. 

In  the  year  1902-3  there  were  146  separate  courses  offered  in 
Teachers  College,  varying  from  i  to  6  hours  per  week,  and  extending 
over  a  period  of  either  a  half  or  a  whole  academic  year.  Fifty  per 
cent,  of  all  the  work  offered  dealt  with  Education  proper,  in  distinction 
from  academic  courses,  although  the  subject-matter  of  nearly  all  of  the 
latter  was  distinctly  professional,  as,  for  instance,  courses  on  Textiles 
and  Foods,  for  prospective  teachers  in  domestic  art  and  domestic 
science. 

Less  than  half  of  the  hours  taken  by  students,  however,  were  in 
Education.  In  fact,  on  the  average,  a  student  taking  16  hours  of 
instruction  per  week  chose  6  of  them  in  Education  proper  and  10  in 
subject-matter  courses.      This  fact   shows  conclusively  the  prevalent 

43 


44  THE  THIRD  YEARBOOK 

conviction  in  the  college,  that  knowledge  of  subject-matter  is  at  least 
not  inferior  to  a  knowledge  of  method  and  of  other  educational 
theory  in  the  training  of  teachers.  And  this  was  true  in  spite  of  the 
fact  that  of  the  729  students  in  residence  in  1902-3,  230  were  college 
graduates,  107  had  had  a  partial  college  course,  and  181  were  normal-, 
training-,  or  technical-school  graduates,  before  entering  Teachers 
College. 

In  addition,  the  amount  of  time  spent  in  study  per  each  unit  of 
credit  was  probably  somewhat  greater  in  the  subject-matter  than  in  the 
education  courses.  Returns  from  229  students  giving  their  estimate 
of  their  amount  of  study  show  the  average  amount  per  each  hour  of 
credit  to  be  2.16  hours,  the  average  for  each  hour  of  credit  in  subject- 
matter  courses  to  be  2.37  hours,  and  that  for  each  hour  of  credit  in 
Education  courses  to  be  1.87  hours.  This  may  be  misleading,  because 
the  time  spent  in  practice-teaching  and  other  practical  work  can 
with  difficulty  be  estimated,  since  it  usually  consumes  a  large  amount 
of  time  for  only  a  few  weeks,  and  it  is  very  probable  that  most  students 
omitted  entirely  this  item  from  consideration.  Yet  these  figures 
approximate  the  facts,  at  any  rate. 

DIFFERENCE  BETWEEN  THE  ACADEMIC  WORK  OF  TEACHERS  COLLEGE 
AND  THAT  OF  NON-PROFESSIONAL  COLLEGES,  LIKE  COLUMBIA  AND 
BARNARD. 

I.  Teachers  College  offers  146  courses,  aggregating  328  hours,  an 
"hour"  meaning  one  hour  a  week  for  one  year.  There  are,  besides 
these,  four  courses  (Botany  11,  13,  17,  28)  given  in  connection  with 
other  institutions. 

Of  the  146  courses,  74  (50  per  cent,  of  the  total,  aggregating  164 
hours,  also  50  per  cent,  of  the  total)  are  purely  educational,  although 
in  the  case  of  Kindergarten  courses.  Music  10,  11,  Physical  Education 
12,  14,  and  Physical  Science  i,  2,  they  are  not  called  courses  in  Edu- 
cation. 

Of  the  nominally  academic  courses  a  surprisingly  large  number  are 
professional  in  fact,  and  are  not  given  in  non-professional  colleges  like 
Barnard  and  Columbia.  There  are  58  of  these  courses  (81  per  cent, 
of  the  nominally  academic  courses),  and  they  aggregate  131  hours 
(81  per  cent,  of  the  number  in  the  nominally  academic  courses,  and  40 
per  cent,  of  the  total  number  of  hours). 

The  following  are  the  courses  nominally  academic,  but  in  fact 
professional : 


RELATION  OF  THEORY  TO  PRACTICE  45 

Biblical  Literature  i  (2  hours),  taken  by  those  who  are  preparing  for 
Bible  teaching. 

*.     Dofnestic  Art  10,  12,  14,  15,  16,  17  (14  hours),  taken  by  those  who  are 
preparing  to  teach  domestic  art. 

Doinestic  Science  10,  1 1,  12,  13,  14,  i  5,  51  (18  hours),  taken  by  those  who 
are  preparing  to  teach  domestic  science. 

Hospital  Economics  10,  12,  (3  hours),  taken  by  those  who  are  preparing 
to  train  nurses. 

English  10  (i  hour),  "Folk  Story,"  taken  by  elementary  teachers  for  use 
with  children. 

Fine  Arts  i,  2,  3,  4,  10,  11,  12,  13,  15,  16,  18,  19,  22,  23  (24  hours),  taken 
by  those  who  are  preparing  to  teach  art. 

Geography  1,2,  10  (7  hours),  taken  by  those  preparing  as  elementary 
teachers,  or  as  special  teachers  of  geography. 

German  \Q  (2  hours),  " Reading  Educational  German;"  offered,  as  its 
name  suggests,  for  the  use  of  teachers  only. 

Greek  5 1  and  Latin  5 1  (4  hours),  reading  courses  for  high-school  teachers. 

Manual  Training  i,  10,  11,  13,  15,  17,  19,  20,  21,  23,  24,  25  (38  hours), 
taken  by  those  who  are  preparing  to  teach  the  subject. 

Mathematics  51  (2  hours),  a  course  in  the  history  of  the  subject,  designed 
especially  for  high-school  teachers. 

Music  2,  3,  4,  12,  14  (9  hours),  taken  by  those  who  are  preparing  to  teach 
music  in  the  schools;  the  same  might  well  be  said  of  music  i,  included  below 
in  the  purely  academic  list. 

Nature  Study  10,  12  (4  hours),  taken  by  elementary  teachers. 

Physical  Science  51  (2  hours),  a  course  in  the  history  of  the  subject, 
designed  especially  for  high-school  teachers. 

While  occasionally  some  of  these  courses  —  as,  for  example,  Geog- 
raphy 10,  or  some  of  the  courses  in  Music  or  the  Fine  Arts — are 
duplicated  in  name  in  some  non-professional  college  like  Columbia  or 
Barnard,  this  is  exceptional,  and  even  in  that  case,  the  aims  of  the 
courses  being  radically  different,  there  is  only  a  nominal  duplication. 
Take,  for  example,  a  subject  like  Geography  i.  While  courses  in 
General  Geography,  arranged  to  fit  one  to  become  an  investigator  in 
this  line,  and  given  with  only  the  scientific  end  in  view,  are  offered  in 
academic  colleges,  and  are  excellent  in  their  results,  these  courses 
would  need  to  be  materially  modified  to  give  the  best  academic  prepa- 
ration for  a  teacher. 

2.  There  are  14  purely  academic  courses,  that  is,  courses  not  per- 
taining to  teaching  (10  per  cent,  of  the  total),  aggregating  33  hours 
(10  per  cent,  of  the  total),  offered  in  Teachers  College.  These  are  as 
follows : 


46 


THE  THIRD  YEARBOOK 


French  A.  and  i,  German  A  and  2,  History  A,  and  Mathematics  A — 
all  offered  for  economical  reasons,  there  being  sufficient  students  to  fill 
one  or  more  sections  of  each.  There  are  also  History  2  and  10, 
demanded  by  the  number  of  teachers  wishing  these  courses  for  high- 
school  work;  Music  i,  a  preliminary  for  the  teachers'  courses  in  music, 
and  demanded  for  all  kindergarten  teachers;  and  the  courses  in 
Physical  Education,  which  are  so  manifestly  professional  that,  although 
offered  in  non-professional  colleges,  they  must  be  given  here. 

It  will,  therefore,  be  seen  that  the  only  real  duplication  of  work 
with  Columbia  and  Barnard  Colleges  is  necessitated  by  the  size  of  the 
sections,  and  is  as  follows  : 

French  A  and  i  (6  hours).  History  A  and  2  (6  hours). 

German  A  and  2  (6  hours).  Mathematics  A  (3  hours). 

This  is  a  total  of  7  courses,  21  hours,  or  5  per  cent,  of  the  total 
number  of  courses  offered  in  Teachers  College,  and  6  per  cent,  of  the 
total  number  of  hours.  It  is  evident,  too,  that  the  method  of  instruc- 
tion in  these  courses  is,  by  the  nature  of  the  aims  of  the  students 
involved,  quite  different  from  that  in  non-professional  colleges, 
although  this  point  can  hardly  be  made  clear  to  the  instructors  to 
whom  these  classes  are  often  left  in  such  institutions. 

Nevertheless,  these  subjects  in  group  2  might  with  no  serious  harm 
be  handed  over  to  Columbia  and  Barnard  Colleges,  if  it  were  not  for 
the  economical  question  involved.  If  the  university  should  cease  to 
require  subjects  like  Mathematics  A,  German  A,  and  History  A,  the 
problem  would  be  to  quite  an  extent  solved  by  the  diminution  in  the 
size  of  classes. 

3.  The  following  is  a  summary  of  the  courses  offered  at  Teachers 
College : 


Courses 

Hours 

Number 

Percentage 

Number 

Percentage 

Purely  educstioriEl           

74 
5« 

50 
40 

164 
131 

50 

Education  in  fact,  though  not  in  name  . .  . 

40 

Total 

132 
7 

7 

90 

5 
5 

295 
12 
21 

90 

Purely  academic,  though  not  duplicating 
Columbia  or  Barnard  Colleges 

4 
6 

Grand  total 

146 

100 

328 

100 

RELATION  OF  THEORY  TO  PRACTICE  47 

It  is  evident  that  the  above -outlined  policy  of  Teachers  College  in 
regard  to  subject-matter  courses  calls  into  question  the  special  fitness 
of  the  academic  subjects  in  the  customary  college  for  those  persons 
who  are  expecting  to  teach. 

NATURE    OF    GENERAL    AND    SPECIAL     COURSES     IN     EDUCATION THEIR 

RELATION    TO    EACH    OTHER    AND    TO    PRACTICE. 

In  the  organization  of  Teachers  Colleges  a  number  of  courses 
bearing  on  the  general  problems  of  education  are  provided,  as  well 
as  special  courses  relating  to  the  theory  and  practice  of  teaching  in 
each  of  the  separate  departments  represented. 

The  nature  of  the  general  courses  is  twofold :  first,  a  number  of 
courses  that  deal  with  the  basic  facts  of  child-life,  fundamental  educa- 
tional principles  and  leading  points  in  methods  of  teaching  that  are 
considered  as  essential  elements  in  the  work  of  all  undergraduate 
students;  and,  secondly,  a  larger  number  of  courses  that  consider 
more  advanced  problems  of  the  educational  philosophy,  child-study, 
supervision,  and  school  administration,  and  which  are  in  general 
intended  for  senior  and  graduate  work. 

In  the  first  group  fall  courses  in  the  Elements  of  Psychology,  Educa- 
tional Psychology,  the  History  and  Principles  of  Education,  and  in 
General  Method  and  Practice-Teaching,  although  the  latter  is  a 
required  course  only  for  the  students  preparing  for  general  teaching 
in  the  elementary  school. 

In  the  second  group  are  courses  in  Educational  Problems,  Modern 
Educational  Theory,  School  Administration,  Child-Study,  Genetic 
Psychology,  Supervision,  Critic  Work  and  Experimental  Teaching, 
and  general  courses  on  Secondary  Education.  In  addition  to  these, 
seven  "practica"  and  six  seminar  courses  are  offered  for  further 
graduate  study.  These  latter  courses  call  for  research  work  and 
intensive  study  on  special  phases  of  general  problems,  and  are  open 
only  to  graduate  students. 

In  the  first  group  the  course  in  the  Elements  of  Psychology  deals 
with  the  fundamental  facts  of  mental  life.  While  aiming  at  breadth 
and  thoroughness,  the  needs  of  the  prospective  teacher  are  given 
prominence  through  the  selection  of  topics  of  special  pertinence,  and 
by  the  use  of  illustrations  from  school  life  whenever  possible. 

The  course  in  Educational  Psychology  aims  to  develop  in  students 
the  power  to  apply  the  facts  of  psychology  to  the  problems  of  teaching. 
Special  study  is  made  of  the  meaning  of  apperception,  the  problem  of 


48  THE  THIRD  YEARBOOK 

attention,  the  relation  of  memory  to  knowing,  the  part  played  by 
imagery,  the  emotions  and  interests  in  child-life,  the  importance  of 
habit,  and  the  place  of  suggestion  in  teaching. 

As  a  part  of  the  course  there  is  systematic  observation  of  teaching 
in  the  Horace  Mann  School,  during  which  the  points  previously 
considered  are  kept  to  the  front.  And  besides  that,  a  study  is  made 
of  ten  or  more  lessons  from  text-books,  the  good  and  the  bad  points 
being  noted  and  the  decisions  justified. 

These  two  courses,  each  a  three-hour  course  for  one-half  year,  are 
required  of  all  students  in  the  first  year  of  the  undergraduate  two-year 
professional  courses  for  the  Bachelor's  diplomas  and  degree  in  Educa- 
tion, and  more  than  any  other  courses  in  the  institution  they  are 
intended  to  furnish  a  basis  for  the  specialized  study  of  education  in 
each  department  during  the  senior  year  and  later. 

The  only  required  work  in  the  senior  year  for  all  undergraduate 
professional  courses  is  the  History  and  Principles  of  Education. 

The  first  portion  of  this  course  examines  the  ideals  and  character 
of  education  in  oriental  countries,  in  Greece  and  Rome,  passing 
thence  to  the  influence  of  the  Middle  Ages,  and  later  to  the  concep- 
tions and  types  of  education  developed  at  the  time  of  the  Renaissance 
and  the  Reformation.  After  this,  the  influence  of  the  great  educators 
of  modern  times  —  Rabelais,  Montaigne,  Milton,  Locke,  Rousseau, 
Basedow,  Pestalozzi,  Herbart,  and  Froebel — is  analyzed,  and  their 
contributions  to  the  present  thought  and  practice  are  studied. 

The  psychological  conception  of  education,  as  represented  by 
Pestalozzi,  Herbart,  and  Froebel,  is  contrasted  with  the  sociological 
conception,  as  advanced  by  Spencer,  and  the  influence  of  the  latter 
idea  on  subject-matter  is  considered. 

At  the  end  of  the  course  a  study  is  made  of  contemporary  concep- 
tions of  education,  involving  the  nature  and  aim  of  Education,  the 
institutional  factors  in  the  process,  the  subject-matter  and  method, 
and  the  organization  and  administration  of  education. 

This  is  a  three-hour  course  for  one  year,  and,  since  the  average 
student  is  expected  to  take  fifteen  hours  of  work  per  week,  the  pro- 
portionate time  belonging  to  it  is  evident.  Returns  from  loi  students 
who  were  taking  this  course  last  year  show  it,  too,  to  have  required 
possibly  more  than  the  average  time  for  educational  courses,  namely, 
1.96  hours  of  study  for  i  hour  in  class. 

Several  important  questions  arise  in  regard  to  the   relation  of   this 


RELATION  OF  THEORY  TO  PRACTICE  49 

course  to  other   requirements   of   students,  particularly   to    those  of 
students  in  the  several  technical  departments  of  the  college: 

1.  Is  not  the  total  amount  of  the  time  required  for  it  out  of  pro- 
portion to  the  other  work  of  the  senior  year  ? 

2.  Does  it  not  devote  too  large  an  amount  of  students'  time  to  the 
study  of  ancient  educational  ideals  and  practices,  which  have  relatively 
small  direct  bearing  on  modern  thought,  and  which  lack  vital 
suggestiveness  and  stimulating  quality  to  students  whose  main 
interests  are  in  the  present  problems  of  the  methods  courses  ? 

If  the  reply  is  made  that  one  important  aim  here  is  culture,  is  it 
not  true  that  the  devotion  of  a  large  amount  of  time  to  this  early 
period  for  its  culture  value  is  out  of  place  in  the  most  strictly  pro- 
fessional year  of  the  undergraduate  work  ?  Also,  may  it  not  be  true 
that  as  great  breadth  of  view  can  be  obtained  from  a  more  intensive 
study  of  problems  that  appear  more  vitally  related  to  the  student's 
outlook  and  experience  ? 

On  the  other  hand,  is  not  too  little  time  devoted  to  the  more 
recent  ideas  of  educational  theory  and  practice,  such  as  the  ideas  of 
unification  and  correlation  in  the  course  of  study,  the  relation  of 
school  life  to  community  life,  the  influence  of  vocational  demands  and 
conditions  upon  school  work,  the  place  of  art  and  occupations  in 
interpreting  social  life  ?  In  brief,  how  practical  should  a  course  in  the 
history  and  principles  of  education  plan  to  be  ? 

These  problems  are  too  difficult  to  attempt  to  solve  them  at  the 
present  time,  but  since  much  the  same  questions  arise  in  other  insti- 
tutions for  the  training  of  teachers,  the  hope  may  be  here  expressed 
that  they  will  receive  due  attention  in  the  near  future. 

The  undergraduate  special  methods  courses  need  no  description  at 
this  point.  Among  the  graduate  courses  the  "practica"  are  of  special 
interest  because  they  aim  primarily  to  teach  the  proper  methods  of 
investigating  educational  problems.  It  is  true  that  ideas  are  still 
vague  as  to  how  the  scientific  method  can  be  applied  to  the  field  of 
education,  but  it  is  certainly  in  place  to  undertake  the  task.  The 
advance  of  the  science  of  education  is  directly  dependent  upon  the  use 
of  the  scientific  method,  for  otherwise  the  conclusions  reached  are 
only  views,  opinions,  not  fairly  proved  facts.  The  seminars  are 
continuations  of  the  "practica,"  their  special  purpose  being  the 
preparation  of  dissertations  for  the  degree  of  Ph.D.  A  consider- 
able  portion    of  the  advanced   work,  therefore,  has  for  its  distinctive 


50  THE  THIRD  YEARBOOK 

aim    the  teaching   of  right    methods   of  investigation  of  educational 
prd>lems. 

PRACTICAL    WORK. 

The  term  "practical  work"  was  finally  hit  upon  in  the  search  for 
a  suitable  name  to  cover  the  various  kinds  of  practice,  in  distinction 
from  theory,  undertaken  by  students  in  the  Horace  Mann  School  and 
the  Speyer  School.     Included  among  these  kinds  are : 

Observation  of  a  single  child,  a  small  group,  or  a  class. 

Instruction  of  a  single  child,  a  small  group,  or  a  class. 

Preparation  of  materials  for  use  of  a  class. 

Examination  of  papers,  collecting  data  for  a  class. 

The  observation  or  study  of  a  school  as  a  whole,  its  organization  and 
discipline. 

Any  work  that  involves  direct  contact  with  children,  or  with  their  parents, 
or  with  the  environment  of  both,  for  the  purpose  of  influencing  the  school 
instruction,  or  for  improving  the  condition  of  either,  through  educational 
means. 

The  practical  work,  therefore,  finds  its  center  in  the  government, 
instruction,  and  study  of  children,  although  it  includes  whatever 
neighborhood  work  is  primarily  educational.  Thus  the  practical  work 
in  Teachers  College  includes  far  more  than  observation  and  practice- 
teaching,  as  these  terms  are  commonly  used  in  training  schools  for 
teachers. 

The  two  schools  used  for  practical  work  differ  widely  in  their  nature. 

THE  HORACE  MANN  SCHOOL. 

The  Horace  Mann  School,  in  a  building  connected  with  Teachers 
College,  consists  of  a  kindergarten  (37  children),  an  elementary  school 
of  seven  grades  (424  children),  and  a  high-school  with  a  five-year 
course  (430  students);  the  three  departments  together  having  891  pupils. 
The  number  of  teachers  is  65.  The  tuition  in  the  kindergarten  is  II75 
per  year,  which  is  gradually  increased  in  the  grades,  until  the  amount 
per  pupil  in  the  high  school  is  $250. 

The  school  is  under  the  control  of  a  superintendent,  assisted  by 
three  principals,  i.  e.,  of  the  high  school,  the  elementary  school,  and 
the  kindergarten.  Thus  the  so-called  "  Horace  Mann  School "  is 
really  a  system  of  schools,  corresponding  to  a  full  city  system,  in 
miniature. 

The  numerous  heads  of  departments  in  the  college  bring  in  an 
additional  factor.     These  have  always  been  active  in  determining  ::L:ie 


RELATION  OF  THEORY  TO  PRACTICE  51 

Horace  Marin  School  curriculum  in  their  respective  subjects,  and  in 
the  selection  of  text-books,  apparatus,  etc.  They  also  meet  the  teach- 
ers frequently,  individually  and  in  groups,  for  discussion  of  the  work 
of  the  school.  Yet  their  relation  to  the  school  in  all  these  matters  is 
advisory  only,  the  superintendent  and  principals  possessing  the  final 
authority  to  decide  upon  curriculum,  text-books,  etc.  The  reason  for 
this  arrangement  is  the  conviction  that  specialists,  no  matter  how  com- 
petent and  energetic,  are  unprepared  to  control  the  instruction  in  a 
school.  Final  responsibility  must  be  centered  in  one  person  and  his 
assistants,  in  order  to  secure  a  good  curriculum  and  a  fair  degree  of 
unity  in  other  respects. 

This  arrangement,  however,  leaves  it  practically  to  the  option  of 
each  department  how  much  energy  it  shall  expend  in  trying  to  better 
the  school.  It  is  the  opinion  of  the  undersigned  that  a  faculty  regu- 
lation, whereby  each  department  shall  put  in  writing  its  recommenda- 
tions as  to  curriculum,  text-books,  method,  etc.,  would  effect  an 
important  improvement.  If  such  a  recommendation  were  expected  to 
reach  the  superintendent  of  the  school  by  a  certain  date  each  year,  a 
positive  responsibility  would  be  placed  upon  each  department.  If,  in 
addition,  a  brief  reply  to  the  main  points,  in  writing,  could  be  expected 
from  the  principals  or  superintendent  of  the  school,  a  business  relation 
between  the  two  parties  would  be  established  which  might  prove  very 
beneficial  to  all  concerned. 

Yet  there  is  another  need  more  important  than  this.  Thus  far  the 
Horace  Mann  School  has  not  been  a  center  of  interest  for  Teachers 
College  as  a  whole.  Each  department  bears  a  certain  relation  to  the 
school,  to  be  sure,  but  the  many  departments  have  failed  to  work 
together  in  the  solution  of  the  problems  of  instruction  there.  The 
result  is  that  both  the  college  and  the  school  lose  the  benefit  of  a  close 
contact  between  departments  in  the  discussion  of  practical  school  ques- 
tions. This  means  that  the  college  fails  to  take  advantage  of  its 
highest  opportunity. 

Whether  this  evil  can  ever  be  largely  remedied  is  a  question.  The 
size  of  the  city,  which  places  the  homes  of  members  of  the  faculty  ten 
to  fifteen  miles  apart,  makes  it  extremely  difficult  to  bring  many 
together  for  evening  meetings.  But,  worse  than  that,  the  diverse 
interests  of  the  departments  render  it  difficult  to  find  vital  questions 
of  common  interest.  For  example,  departments  representing  the 
kindergarten,  elementary  instruction,  secondary  instruction  (such  as 


52  THE  THIRD  YEARBOOK 

Latin,  Physical  Education,  Music,  and  Handwork),  college  instruction 
(as  History  of  Education),  school  administration,  and  child-study,  can- 
not readily  unite  in  the  discussion  of  practical  problems. 

Possibly  it  is  best  not  to  attempt  unity  in  such  diversity.  But  it 
might,  at  least,  be  feasible  for  the  departments  to  be  grouped  in  two  or 
more  divisions ;  for  instance,  those  interested  primarily  in  elementary 
instruction  constituting  one  group,  aud  those  interested  in  secondary 
instruction,  another  group.  Each  should  have  its  own  executive  com- 
mittee or  chairman  and  its  stated  meetings,  and  the  latter  could  well 
equal  the  library  as  a  stimulus  and  source  of  suggestions. 

The  high  tuition  is  partial  explanation  for  the  fact  that  the  school  is 
little  used  for  practice-teaching,  although  some  instruction  is  under- 
taken by  students  in  each  of  the  three  departments.  The  absence  of 
such  practice,  however,  render^  the  school  all  the  more  valuable  as  a 
model  for  observation,  which  is  its  chief  function. 

There  are  at  present  twenty-three  methods  courses  that  make  much 
use  of  the  Horace  Mann  School  for  various  kinds  of  practical  work. 
They  are  given  by  sixteen  departments  in  the  college  and  average 
about  fourteen  students  per  class,  with  the  exception  of  one  required 
course  that  has  two  hundred  members.  One  of  these  is  a  kindergarten 
course,  one  is  a  kindergarten  and  primary  course  combined,  seven  deal 
with  elementary  instruction  alone,  eight  with  secondary  instruction, 
and  six  with  both  elementary  and  secondary  teaching.  Twenty  of 
these  are  special  methods  courses,  only  three  being  general.  These 
twenty- three  courses  average  almost  three  hours  per  week  for  one  year, 
and  a  little  more  than  one-third  of  this  time  is  spent  in  practical  work 
in  the  Horace  Mann  School,  the  remainder  being  occupied  in  class- 
room instruction  in  the  college.  Several  other  education  courses  make 
some  use  of  the  Horace  Mann  School. 

It  is  evident,  from  the  above,  that  it  is  the  policy  of  the  college  to 
have  subject-matter  and  methods  courses  quite  distinct  from  each 
other,  although  all  departments  would  agree  that  a  large  amount  of 
method  is  taught  in  the  subject-matter  courses.  The  idea  prevails  that 
there  is  a  sufificient  quantity  of  work  pertaining  to  method  to  make  it 
necessary  to  offer  separate  courses  in  that  field. 

Each  of  these  professional  courses  has  been  developed  independ- 
ently by  the  department  concerned.  No  extensive  uniformity  exists, 
therefore,  or  has  been  aimed  at,  although  comparison  of  views  has  no 
doubt  influenced  every  course  materially.     In  general,  it  can  be  said, 


RELATION  OF  THEORY  TO  PRACTICE  53 

however,  that  the  students  are  divided  into  small  groups,  and  each 
group  is  placed  in  charge  of  a  regular  teacher  of  the  Horace  Mann 
School.  In  case  a  methods  class  has  very  few  students,  they  may  con- 
stitute only  one  such  group ;  but  a  class  of  twenty-five  members  might 
be  divided  into  two  or  three  divisions,  and  asssigned  to  as  many 
teachers,  for  practical  work. 

These  teachers  naturally  have  their  preferences  even  in  the  primary 
department,  and  some  degree  of  specialization  is  customary  in  the 
grammar  grades,  as  well  as  in  the  high  school.  Each  head  of  depart- 
ment, therefore,  can  without  difficulty  find  satisfactory  teachers  particu- 
larly interested  in  his  field  among  whom  to  divide  the  students  in  his 
methods  courses.  Notices  of  assignment  and  records  of  the  same  are 
all  attended  to  by  an  administrative  officer  of  the  college,  and  the  stu- 
dent's program  must  be  arranged  in  this  respect,  as  in  others,  at  the 
beginning  of  the  year. 

From  the  time  of  receiving  a  group  of  students,  the  teacher  in  the 
Horace  Mann  School  is  the  one  primarily  responsible  for  their  welfare 
in  this  work.  Indeed,  the  head  of  department  concerned  may  seldom 
put  in  an  appearnce  to  see  what  the  students  are  accomplishing, 
although  this  is  the  exception  rather  than  the  rule.  But,  on  the  other 
hand,  it  is  the  rule  that  the  teachers  having  charge  of  students  in  any 
branch  are  intimately  acquainted  with  the  desires  of  the  college  depart- 
ment that  they  represent,  and  are  in  such  sympathy  with  it  that  they 
are  capable  of  acting  as  valuable  assistants  to  it  in  the  field  of  practice. 
Indeed,  their  very  reliability  offers  a  temptation  to  the  heads  of  depart- 
ments to  leave  with  them  the  entire  responsibility.  It  should  be 
remembered,  too,  that  the  professors  in  the  college  are  usually  experi- 
enced teachers  of  children  or  of  young  people  below  college  rank,  and 
in  conjunction  with  the  teachers  in  the  Horace  Mann  School  have 
largely  determined  the  present  curriculum  of  the  school.  They  are, 
therefore,  capable  of  keeping  in  close  touch  with  the  practical  work 
of  their  students,  without  seeing  a  large  amount  of  it.  The  responsi- 
bility for  accepting  the  practical  work  for  college  credit  rests  primarily 
with  the  teachers  of  the  Horace  Mann  School.  This  is  a  serious 
responsibility,  in  addition  to  their  other  regular  duties ;  but  usually 
any  one  teacher  has  no  more  than  one  group  of  college  students  to 
supervise,  and  the  cheerfulness  with  which,  almost  universally,  this 
duty  is  undertaken  is  convincing  proof  of  its  worth  to  the  teachers. 
The   requirements   for   the  various  diplomas   and   degrees  are  so 


54  THE  THIRD  YEARBOOK 

different  that  it  is  impossible  to  state  exactly  how  much  practical  work 
a  student  takes.  But,  in  general,  each  undergraduate  student  pursues 
at  least  one  general  methods  course,  and  the  undergraduate  and  grad- 
uate students  alike  pursue  from  one  to  four  other  methods  courses, 
general  and  special.  Ordinarily,  therefore,  a  student  cannot  receive 
any  kind  of  diploma  with  less  than  one  hour  per  week,  for  one  year, 
of  practical  work  in  the  Horace  Mann  School,  and  it  is  the  rule  to  take 
from  two  to  three  times  that  amount. 

The  observation  work  naturally  finds  its  motive  partly  in  the 
practice-teachirfg  that  is  to  follow;  yet  the  time  devoted  to  observation 
by  the  student  is  much  greater  than  that  devoted  to  actual  teaching. 
In  fact,  the  amount  of  instruction,  in  the  Horace  Mann  School  given 
by  a  student  does  not,  as  a  rule,  exceed  a  half-dozen  recitation  periods, 
although  there  are  numerous  exceptions.  The  fact  that  the  Speyer 
School  is  primarily  the  school  for  practice-teaching  partly  explains 
this,  as  does  also  the  high  tuition,  already  referred  to.  But,  in  addi- 
tion, the  faculty  of  Teachers  College  is  practically  unanimous  in  its 
hearty  belief  in  the  great  value  of  observation,  when  preceded  and 
accompanied  by  well-developed  theory,  and  when  the  observation  is 
tested  in  discussion  by  competent  critics. 

THE    SPEYER    SCHOOL. 

The  Speyer  School,  located  eight  blocks  directly  north  of  Teachers 
College,  at  94  Lawrence  street,  is  a  free  school  entirely  supported  by, 
and  under  the  control  of,  the  College.  The  term  "school"  here,  how- 
ever, includes  not  only  a  school  in  the  ordinary  sense,  but  an  organiza- 
tion for  neighborhood  work  as  well.  The  school  proper  consists  at 
present  of  a  kindergarten  and  six  grades  (160  children  in  all),  the 
seventh  and  eighth  grades  to  be  added  as  the  present  sixth  grade 
advances.  The  number  of  regular  teachers  is  7,  besides  an  acting 
principal  and  several  supervisors.  The  children  are  desired  to  repre- 
sent average  families  in  their  home  advantages,  and  have  been  chosen 
with  this  in  view  from  those  who  have  happened  to  offer  themselves  as 
pupils. 

The  neighborhood  work  is  under  the  control  of  a  director,  who  is 
assisted  by  three  regularly  employed  assistants,  besides  twenty  or  thirty 
other  workers,  giving  one  or  more  hours  per  week  each.  The  resident 
workers  occupy  the  fifth  floor  of  the  building.  The  school  and  neigh- 
borhood work  together  keep  the  greater  portion  of  the  building  occu- 


RELATION  OF  THEORY  TO  PRACTICE  55 

pied  throughout  the  day  and  evening.  The  "school,"  including  these 
two  kinds  of  work,  is  under  the  general  supervision  of  two  departments 
of  the  college,  the  department  of  school  administration  being  responsi- 
ble for  all  matters  of  business,  and  the  department  of  elementary  edu- 
cation for  all  matters  strictly  educational,  such  as  curriculum,  selection 
of  text-books,  etc.  The  other  departments  of  the  college  have  a 
decided  influence  on  the  school ;  indeed,  in  several  cases,  a  very  active 
share  in  its  work ;  but  their  relation  is  only  advisory,  as  at  the  Horace 
Mann  School. 

The  school  proper  is  primarily  a  school  of  practice  and  experiment. 
It  is  used  mainly  by  college  seniors  and  graduate  students.  A  large 
percentage  of  the  former  are  normal-school  graduates,  and  many  are 
experienced  teachers.  They  undertake  practice-teaching  as  a  required 
part  of  their  methods  courses,  and  they  find  its  chief  value  in  the 
criticisms  received.  As  a  rule,  they  teach  one  branch  of  study  for  a 
month  or  more,  after  having  observed  a  class  long  enough  to  become 
fairly  well  acquainted  with  the  children  and  their  work. 

The  graduate  students  who  do  work  at  the  school  are  more  numerous 
than  the  undergraduates.  They  get  the  benefit  of  criticism,  as  do  the 
others ;  but  that  is  not  the  main  profit  aimed  at.  Their  work  is  usually 
of  an  experimental  nature,  although  they  sometimes  act  as  supervisors 
and  critics  of  other  students.  Most  of  such  work,  as  most  of  the  other 
practical  work  both  at  the  Horace  Mann  and  at  the  Speyer  School,  is 
immediately  a  part  of  some  college  course,  the  class-room  discussion 
dealing  with  theory,  and  this  practice  aiming  at  the  application  of  that 
theory.  In  connection  with  such  courses,  some  topic  bearing  on  the 
curriculum  or  on  method  may  be  selected  that  calls  both  for  research 
in  the  library  and  for  actual  experiment  in  the  Speyer  School.  For 
example,  this  year  two  students  have  chosen  the  problem  of  teaching 
children  how  to  study  history;  one,  the  problem  of  primitive  life  in  the 
first  two  grades ;  three,  the  possibility  and  feasibility  of  a  much  better 
kind  of  problem  in  arithmetic;  one,  the  difficulties  in  the  way  of  uni- 
fying the  kindergarten  and  primary  school,  and  the  remedies  for  them. 
The  last  topic  calls  for  library  research  and  observation  mainly,  rather 
than  practice-teaching.  Whatever  assistance  can  be  gotten  from  any 
department  is  entirely  admissible,  but  the  student  must  have  force 
enough  to  carry  on  his  investigation  in  his  own  way,  and  reach  safe 
conclusions  of  some  sort  from  data  that  an  outsider  can  appreciate. 
Valuable  new  knowledge  is  one  thing  aimed  at,  but  a  good  method  of 


56  THE  THIRD  YEARBOOK 

working  on  educational  problems,  approximating  a  scientific  method, 
is  not  less  important.  Thus  there  are  two  values  aimed  at  in  such 
graduate  work  that  are  not  expected  for  undergraduate  students. 

The  neighborhood  or  settlement  work  has  been  begun  by  attempt- 
ing to  duplicate  such  work  as  is  done  in  the  better  ** Settlements"  in 
cities.  To  this  end  classes  in  cooking,  sewing,  and  dancing  have  been 
conducted  in  the  afternoon ;  numerous  clubs  have  been  established  for 
the  evenings,  devoting  their  time  to  exercises  in  the  gymnasium,  includ- 
ing the  use  of  the  bath,  to  manual  work,  to  literature,  to  parliamentary 
law,  home  nursing,  etc.,  and  the  library  with  two  reading  rooms,  has 
been  kept  open  at  certain  hours  for  the  use  of  adults  and  children. 
In  addition,  a  large  number  of  children  collect  at  the  building  on 
afternoons  for  games  of  various  kinds,  and  for  story-telling;  and 
on  certain  evenings  young  people  and  adults  meet  there  for  social 
entertainment,  including  games,  music,  reading,  and  dancing  in  their 
program.  Through  these  means  as  many  as  three  hundred  families 
are  affected  more  or  less,  while  the  school  proper  reaches  about  one 
hundred  and  fifty  other  families,  the  two  groups  of  families  overlapping 
very  little.  Thus  the  neighborhood  work  supplements  that  of  the 
school,  so  that  the  two  together  influence  between  four  hundred  and 
five  hundred  families  in  a  community  of  perhaps  150,000  persons.  And 
since  the  classes  and  clubs  are  conducted  or  supervised  mainly  by  vol- 
unteer students  from  Columbia  College  as  well  as  from  Teachers 
College,  the  value  to  the  university  as  a  whole  is  apparent.  Much  of 
this  volunteer  work  is  no  part  of  any  course  and  receives  no  credit, 
being  undertaken  solely  on  account  of  a  desire  to  engage  in  some 
form  of  social  work. 

The  moment,  however,  one  attempts  to  do  considerably  more  than 
entertain  children  in  a  club  for  an  hour  or  more — that  is,  the  moment 
one  undertakes  to  put  such  work  on  an  educational  plane  —  he  is  con- 
fronted with  a  most  difficult  problem.  Proper  discipline  requires  more 
judgment  and  successful  appeals  to  interest  demand  more  skill,  than 
in  the  day  school.  Both  subject-matter  and  method,  must  therefore, 
receive  special  attention.  More  originality  and  a  more  careful  study  of 
home  habits,  street  life,  etc.,  are  demanded  than  in  ordinary  instruction. 
For  such  reasons  this  work  may  now  also  be  accepted  in  Teachers  Col- 
lege as  practical  work  with  credit  for  graduate  students.  For  example, 
one  student  the  present  year  has  general  charge  of  the  manual  training 
in  the  several  boys'  clubs ;  two  together  are  in  control  of  a  club  that 


RELATION  OF  THEORY  TO  PRACTICE  57 

aims  at  the  good  oral  reading  and  also  telling  of  classic  stories,  dramas, 
etc.;  one  will  soon  undertake  the  instruction  of  a  class  of  children 
defective  in  hearing ;  and  one  is  responsible  for  teaching  games  and 
other  kinds  of  entertainment  to  a  class  of  fifteen-year  old  girls.  All 
such  work  is  peculiarly  difficult  and  truly  experimental,  since  neither 
the  customs  of  the  schools  nor  those  of  the  settlements  can  be  adopted. 
There  is  the  assumption  here,  too,  that  social  service  is  fully  within  the 
sphere  of  the  duties  of  teachers  in  training,  and  experience  of  this  sort 
will  have  a  much-needed  effect  upon  the  common  school. 

As  time  passes  an  attempt  will  be  made  to  modify  this  neighbor- 
hood work  radically,  and  to  bring  it  and  the  day  school  together.  At 
present,  although  the  two  are  conducted  in  the  same  building,  they 
deal  with  different  classes  of  people  and  have  different  aims,  so  that 
they  are  practically  unrelated.  In  consequence,  each  is  seriously  defec- 
tive. Anyone  must  admit  that  even  the  so-called  good  school  of  the 
present  is  a  thoroughly  theoretical  institution,  imparting  a  large  amount 
of  theory  about  how  to  live  and  exciting  a  good  degree  of  interest,  but 
not  following  up  either  to  the  point  of  use  or  practice.  So  it  is  with 
the  Speyer  School.  The  neighborhood  work,  on  the  other  hand,  is 
superficial  and  scattering,  offering  little  of  theory;  in  fact,  trying  to  be 
practical  on  a  meager  quantity  of  thought. 

If  the  two  efforts  could  be  united  into  a  single  work,  something  of 
far  more  value  might  be  accomplished.  Then  the  solution  of  probably  . 
the  greatest  modern  educational  problem  would  be  undertaken,  namely, 
the  question  :  Is  it  possible  for  a  school  to  be  so  conducted  as  to  com- 
bine theory  with  practice  abundantly?  The  first  step  toward  a  solution 
would  consist  in  centering  the  attention  of  the  teachers  and  neighbor- 
hood workers  alike  upon  largely  the  same  set  of  persons ;  that  is,  the 
children  in  the  school  and  their  parents.  A  few  concrete  examples 
will  suggest  the  possibilities  that  might  follow. 

The  fourth  grade  in  the  school  recently  planted  some  narcissus 
bulbs  in  a  small  flower  garden  out-of-doors,  and  afterward  made  some 
study  of  such  bulbs.  Suppose,  in  this  connection,  that  the  children 
were  brought  to  realize  that  the  long  winter  is  before  us,  during  which 
the  coloring  of  vegetation  can  be  little  enjoyed,  and  that  the  narcissus 
bulb  is  a  special  means  of  securing  beautiful  flowers  at  the  earliest 
possible  moment  in  the  spring.  Suppose  that  it  is  also  shown  that 
thousands  of  persons  in  our  city  so  hunger  for  such  beauty  during  the 
cold  season  that  they  spend  money  for  flowers,  just  as  for  bread,  thus 


58  THE  THIRD  YEARBOOK 

supporting  a  florist's  establishment  every  few  blocks.  Suppose,  finally, 
that  similar  flower-producing  bulbs  are  studied  and  associated  with  the 
narcissus,  such  as  the  hyacinth,  tulip,  jonquil,  and  tuberose.  At  this 
point  school  instruction  must  usually  stop  owing  to  pressure  of  other 
duties. 

But  the  real  fruitage  of  the  learning  is  lost,  unless  other  things  are 
added.  Awakened  to  a  sense  of  the  beauty  and  need  of  more  color 
in  winter,  the  children  might  be  led  to  care  for  some  house  plants  dur- 
ing this  period.  But  what  kinds,  where  obtained,  where  placed,  and 
how  cared  for  ?  Under  guidance  they  might  form  the  habit  of  visiting 
the  florists  occasionally  for  the  purpose  of  seeing  the  variety  of  plants 
on  hand,  renewing  the  acquaintance  with  some,  and  buying  some. 
The  children  even  in  the  kindergarten  have  volunteered  the  informa- 
tion that  they  can  "work"  their  fathers  for  pennies,  if  they  ask  for 
one  at  a  time,  and  the  first  five  cents  spent  by  a  child  for  flowers  marks 
an  epoch  in  his  life  much  as  when  one's  first  book  is  purchased. 
Where,  also,  might  some  of  these  several  kinds  of  bulbs  be  bought, 
how  much  would  they  cost,  where  and  how  might  they  be  planted,  and 
how  should  each  be  cared  for  ?  The  school  breaks  down  at  such  work 
as  this  because  of  a  lack  of  helpers;  and  at  this  point  it  is  proposed 
that  the  neighborhood  workers  come  in  to  give  assistance,  following 
up  each  of  these  points  to  its  execution. 

But  these  workers  might  well,  also,  make  demands  on  the  school. 
In  the  course  of  their  visits  to  the  homes  in  the  neighborhood  they  dis- 
cover what  newspapers  and  magazines,  if  any,  are  read,  and  to  some 
extent  how  they  are  read.  They  make  some  observations  on  the  topics 
of  conversation  at  meal  times,  the  furniture  of  the  home,  the  sanitary 
conditions,  the  extent  to  which  the  families  spend  their  evenings  together, 
the  behavior  of  older  children  toward  their  younger  brothers  and  sisters 
and  their  parents,  the  games  that  are  played,  and  other  amusements. 
Conscious  of  the  needs  that  these  observations  suggest,  why  should 
not  these  workers  influence  the  teachers  to  instruct  the  older  children 
about  differences  among  newspapers,  what  the  characteristics  of  the 
best  ones  are,  what  the  best  parts  of  a  paper  are,  and  how  to  read  the 
various  parts  ?  Why  should  they  not,  likewise,  expect  the  teachers  to 
acquaint  the  children,  and  the  parents  through  parents'  meetings,  with 
the  faults  of  poor  magazines,  and  the  names  of  some  of  the  best  and 
cheapest,  including  some  discussion  as  to  how  to  read  them  ?  Why 
might  they  not  further  insist  that  more  topics  be  included  in  the  school 


RELATION  OF  THEORY  TO  PRACTICE  59 

curriculum  that  would  prove  acceptable  as  topics  of  conversation  at 
home,  the  teacher  aiming  to  present  these  in  such  a  manner  that  the 
children  would  be  able  to  converse  about  them  intelligently  ?  Why 
not,  in  addition,  suggest  that  the  ability  to  tell  a  story  and  read  well 
aloud  be  so  developed  —  on  classic  subject-matter  —  that  the  ability 
may  often  prove  the  means  of  holding  the  members  of  a  family 
together  in  the  evening  ?  The  school  already  partly  accomplishes 
these  tasks.  If  it  would  go  farther,  the  neighborhood  workers  could 
be  of  great  assistance  in  carrying  them  to  the  end,  in  executing  the 
theory  offered  by  the  school.  In  this  manner  the  teachers  and  the 
neighborhood  workers  might  well  co-operate,  each  assisting  the  other 
and  each  asking  assistance  from  the  other. 

The  problem  involved  calls  into  question  the  nature  of  the  school. 
So  much  of  what  is  taught  there  is  never  followed  up  to  the  point  of 
execution,  is  not  made  to  meet  real  needs,  even  when  it  might  well 
meet  them.  And  so  much  of  what  is  taught  is  quite  unrelated  to  real 
needs,  to  life  !  It  is  no  wonder  that  many  persons  doubt  the  possi- 
bility of  making  the  school  strongly  practical  as  well  as  theoretical.  If 
a  number  of  experimental  stations,  such  as  the  Speyer  School,  would 
work  energetically  on  this  problem,  a  different  faith  might  come  into 
being.  It  would  take  a  larger  force  of  teachers  to  conduct  a  school  that 
actually  applied  a  fair  part  of  the  knowledge  that  it  presented,  but  the 
public  would  finally  be  far  more  willing  to  employ  a  larger  number.. 
There  are  many  indications  that  the  school  of  the  future  will  combine 
many  of  the  characteristics  of  the  present  public  school  with  those  of  the 
present  settlement  work,  being  perhaps  a  sort  of  cross  between  the  two. 
It  is  the  purpose,  at  least,  to  strive  in  this  direction  in  the  Speyer 
School,  and  to  call  upon  graduate  students  to  share  in  such  work, 
whether  they  undertake  "practical  work"  in  the  school  proper  or  in  the 
other  branches  of  the  institution.  Gradually  the  two  must  become  one, 
if  the  educational  theory  of  the  college  finds  realization  in  the  school. 

In  conclusion,  it  is  impossible  to  determine  from  the  preceding 
statements  just  how  much  observation,  practice-teaching,  or  other  prac- 
tical work  is  required  from  students  of  Teachers  College.  It  should 
be  remembered  that  this  is  due  to  the  great  variety  of  purpose  and 
advancement  of  the  students.  It  is  at  least  a  question  whether  college 
graduates  who  have  taught  for  a  number  of  years,  and  who  are  now 
specializing  in  the  history  of   education    or   child-study,   should    be 


6o  THE  THIRD  YEARBOOK 

required  to  do  any  practice-teaching  whatever.  And  it  is  evident  that 
others  should  do  more  or  less  of  such  work,  according  to  their  past 
training  and  present  object.  But,  on  the  other  hand,  any  student  who 
wishes  to  specialize  to  a  considerable  extent  in  practical  work  in  the 
"  elementary  "  school  can  do  so  to  his  heart's  content  at  Teachers  Col- 
lege. The  two  schools  offer  ample  facilities  at  present.  When  it  comes 
to  secondary  work,  however,  this  is  unfortunately  not  yet  the  case. 

PLANS    OF    RECITATIONS. 

There  is  a  general  agreement  among  the  departments  of  the  college 
that  written  plans  for  recitations  are  an  essential  element  in  the  train- 
ing of  teachers.  But  the  nature  of  such  plans  has  been  differently  con- 
ceived by  the  various  instructors,  so  that  students  taking  a  methods 
course  under  one  professor  have  made  out  one  kind  of  plan,  and  taking 
such  a  course  under  another  have  followed  a  different  scheme.  This 
lack  of  harmony  has  led  to  much  confusion  and  loss  of  time.  It  has 
seemed  important,  therefore,  that  some  agreement  be  reached  as  to  the 
main  characteristics  of  these  plans.  Following  is  a  typical  plan,  taken 
from  Manual  Training,  whose  form  has  been  agreed  upon  as  acceptable 
by  about  half  of  the  departments  of  the  college.  Quite  possibly  it  will 
prove  acceptable  to  the  remainder  when  opportunity  has  been  found 
for  its  careful  consideration. 

LESSON  PLAN  FOR  MAKING  A  SAILBOAT  — FIFTH  GRADE. 

PREPARED  BY  DR.  E.  B.  KENT. 

Teacher's  aim.— To  make  a  sailboat  which  shall  have  value  for  the  children  as  a  toy,  and  thereby 
to  determine  some  fundamental  principles  of  boat  construction.  Illustrations  of  these  principles  are  to  be 
observed  at  the  One  Hundred  and  Twenty-ninth  street  piers. 

Children's  aim. — ^To  make  a  sailboat. 

SUBJECT-MATTER.  METHOD. 

How  many  of  you  have  made  sailboats? 
What  difficulties,  if  any,  did  you  meet  in 

making  them?     In  sailing  them? 
We  shall  try  to  avoid  these. 
A.   The  hull.  What  shall  we  make  first? 

I.    It  must  float;  i.e.,  be  lighter  than       i.    What  is  the  most  important  point  to 
equal  bulk  of  water.  look  out  for  in  making  the  hull? 

Advantages  of  wood,  paper,  etc.  What,  then,  are  good  materials? 

How  iron  may  be  used.  But  are  not  steamships  built  of  iron? 

Why  do  they  float?     Illustrate  with 
a  cup. 


RELATION  OF  THEORY  TO  PRACTICE 


6 1 


SUBJECT-MATTER. 

Hollowness,  rather  than  lightness 
of  material,  keeps  most  boats 
afloat. 

Wood  best  for  our  purpose  because 
it  will  float  without  being  hol- 
lowed. 

Form. 

a)  Must  be  such  as  to  allow  the 

greatest  speed. 

Sharpening   the  prow  will  in- 
crease speed. 
Length  of  point,  3" — 4". 

b)  Must  be  such  as  to  sail  straight; 

i,  e.y  bi-symmetrical. 


Prow  must  be  in  middle  of  end. 
Slant  must  be  the  same  on  both 

sides. 
Use  of  chisel. 


Advantage  of  making  the  cuts 
parallel  to  the  line. 
c)  Other  details  of  form  affecting 
speed. 

All   splashing   by  the   boat   is 
wasted  energy. 


Occurs  at  corners. 


Bottom    to    be    rounded    with 

plane  or  knife. 
Stern    cut    to    semicircle,   and 
made  to  slant  upward    from 
keel. 
Motive  power. 
I.    Mast. 

The  larger  the  sail,  the  more  power. 


METHOD. 

What,  then,  has  lightness  of  material 
to  do  with  keeping  the  ordinary 
boat  afloat? 

Best  material  for  us  to  use? 


a)  Why  not  use  these  blocks  just  as 
they  are  (i"X2"Xio")  for  our 
hulls? 
Why  make  them  pointed? 

How  long  shall  the  point  be? 
i)  In   planning   the   point,  we   must 

think  of  something  else  besides 

speed. 
How  would  a  boat  act  if  shaped 

like  this?  ( 

(top  view). 


> 


How,  then,  must  we  plan  the  point? 
Draw  lines  for  point. 

What  tool  shall  we  cut  them  with? 
Who  can  show  us  how  to  use  it? 
{Class  begins  work.) 


c)  Is  there  anything  else  which  we 
may  do  to  the  hull  to  increase 
the  speed? 

The  point  increases  speed  because 
it  reduces  the  splashing  of  the 
boat — saves  the  water  from  turn- 
ing sharp  corners. 

At  what  other  points  will  there  be 
splashing  and  disturbance  of 
water? 

How  remedy  this? 

Process  treated  as  above. 
How  describe  a  good  hull? 
{Work.) 

What  shall  we  do  next? 
How  tall  a  mast? 


62 


THE  THIRD  YEARBOOK 


SUBJECT-MATTER. 

The  size  of  sail  is  limited  by  the 
height  of  the  mast. 

The  height  of  the  mast  is  limited 
by  the  stability  of  hull. 

Consequences  of  too  high  a  mast. 

Ballast. 

Steadies  boat  and  so  allows  in- 
creased sail  area. 

Freight  ships  depend  on  their  car- 
go for  ballast. 

Racing  yachts  have  a  deep-reach- 
ing metal  keel. 

Use  of  large  nail  as  ballast. 

a)  As  common  keel,  fastened  to 
bottom  of  boat  with  staples. 

Better    for    use    in    shallow 
water. 

b)  As  "fin"  keel,  by  driving  per- 
pendicularly into  bottom  of  boat. 

Much   steadier,  but  requires 
deep  water. 
Best  height  for  mast. 

Determined  by  experiment  at  sink 
or  in  pail  of  water.  Allow  some- 
thing for  weight  of  sail. 

A  mast  should  taper  to  give  maxi- 
mum of  strength  and  lightness 
respectively  where  each  is  most 
needed. 
Process. 

i)  Bore  X  "  hole  through  boat  i" 
or  2"  forward  of  center. 

2)  Split  a  long  piece  from  a  X" 
board  and  fit  to  boat. 

3)  Test  in  water  and  cut  off  at  top 
till  boat  becomes  steady. 

4)  Cut  off  about  ^  more  to  allow 
for  weight  of  sail. 

5)  Taper  mast  using  plane  or  knife. 

6)  Split  the  lower  end  of  mast,  in- 
sert in  hole,  and  secure  by  driv- 
ing wooden  wedge  into  the  split. 


METHOD. 


Why  so  tall? 
Why  not  taller? 


Can  we  do  anything  to  the  hull  which 
will  enable  it  to  carry  more  mast  and 
sail  without  capsizing? 

Is  this  done  with  real  boats?     How? 


In  what  two  ways   could   you   use   this 
spike  as  ballast  for  your  boat? 


Advantages  of  each? 

(Work.) 


Now,  once  more,  how  tall  shall  we  make 
the  mast? 

How  find  out?  Only  by  trying.  Begin 
with  a  mast  you  are  sure  is  tall  enough 
and  cut  it  down  till  boat  behaves  prop- 
erly in  water. 

What  is  the  proper  shape  for  a  mast? 
Why? 


What  shall  we   do   first   in  making   the 
mast?    Why?   What  next?   Why?  etc. 


RELATION  OF  THEORY  TO  PRACTICE 


63 


SUBJECT-MATTER. 

3.    Sail. 

a)  Size  —  as  high  as  mast  will  al- 
low and  almost  as  broad  at 
bottom . 
6)  Shapes. 

(i)  Common,  four  sided;  gives 

largest  surface. 
(2)  Triangular,  or  "leg  of  mut- 
ton;"    less   surface,   but 
more    easily    made    and 
rigged. 
c)  Spreading. 

Use  of  boom,  gaff,  hoisting-line. 
Loops  for  attaching  to  mast. 
Hems  for  holding  boom  and  gaff. 
Process. 
Cut  sail. 
Make  hems. 

Attach  mast-loops  and  hoist- 
ing-line. 
Insert  spars. 

Make  small  hole  in   top   of 
mast  and  pass  hoisting-line 
through  it. 
C.  Means  of  steering. 
Necessity  of  rudder. 

It  tends  to  push  the  stem  of  the 
boat  away  from  the  side  toward 
which  it  is  turned. 
A  sailboat  cannot  be  steered  very  much 
by  the  rudder  alone.     The  slant  of 
the  sail  must  often  be  changed  too, 
and  this  we  cannot  do  on  our  boat. 
Still  we  shall  need  a  rudder  to  hold 
the  stern  in  place,  and  thus  make  the 
boat  point  always  with  the  wind  in- 
stead of  turning  around  and  around. 
(Possibly  discuss  tacking  and  ex- 
plain how  a  boat  may  sail  almost 
into  the  wind.) 
Making  a  rudder. 

Surface  about  i  ^ "  square. 
Fitted  to  hole  in  stern. 
Conclude    with   excursion   to  the  One 
Study  the  adaptation  of  the  different  types 
explain  in  this  way  the  larger  differences  in 


METHOD. 


What  shape  and  size  of  sail  shall  we  use? 


Advantages  of  the  different  shapes. 


How  kept  spread? 


Cut  paper  pattern  just  the  shape  and  size 

you  wish  your  sail  to  be. 
Cut  from  cloth,  allowing  enough  for  the 

hems. 
Now,  what    do  you  think    are   the   two 

most  important  things  to  look  out  for 

in  making  a  sail? 


Does  the  boat  need  anything  else?    How 
are  boats  steered? 


On  a  sailboat,  is  the  steering  done  en- 
tirely by  the  rudder? 

(State  facts  opposite.) 


What  shall  be  the  shape  of  the  rudder? 

How  large? 

How  attached? 

Hundred  and  Twenty-ninth  street  piers. 

there  seen  to  their  various  purposes,  and 

form,  speed,  motive  power,  etc. 


64  THE  THIRD  YEARBOOK 

The  first  characteristic  of  this  plan  is  that  it  has  two  parts,  subject- 
matter  and  method,  that  are  quite  distinct  from  each  other.  The 
primary  reason  for  this  separation  is  that  poor  teaching  is  as  often  due 
to  lack  of  digestion  of  subject-matter  as  to  bad  method ;  and  when  the 
subject-matter  is  not  placed  entirely  by  itself  it  is  difficult  to  see  how 
poorly  it  has  been  organized  or  how  meager  it  is  in  content.  And 
since  it  is  necessary  to  think  subject-matter  through,  independently  of 
method,  indeed  de/ore  method  has  been  considered,  the  former  is 
placed  on  the  left. 

The  method  of  presenting  any  portion  of  the  subject-matter  is 
found  immediately  to  the  right  in  the  method  column  —  a  plan  that 
can  be  followed  in  most  cases,  though  not  in  all. 

The  method  of  presentation  is  shown  in  direct  discourse  because, 
when  the  recitation  is  finally  being  conducted,  the  thought  of  the 
teacher  must  take  that  form.  This  characteristic,  also,  cannot  belong 
to  all  recitations,  although  it  can  to  a  great  part  of  them. 

The  paragraphing  and  indentation,  both  in  subject-matter  and 
method,  are  intended  to  reveal  the  relative  values  of  facts  and  remarks, 
a  matter  of  the  utmost  importance  in  teaching.  Only  when  relative 
values  are  thus  clearly  foreseen  by  the  teacher  are  they  likely  to  be 
appreciated  by  the  learner. 

There  is  no  opposition  between  the  Herbartian  "formal  steps"  and 
the  form  of  plan  here  suggested.  In  fact,  they  merely  supplement 
each  other;  the  "formal  steps"  indicate  the  main  steps  in  the  inductive- 
deductive  movement,  and  this  form  of  plan  merely  suggests  other 
thoughts  besides  those  that  might  well  be  guides  when  one  is  preparing 
lesson  plans. 

F.  M.  McMuRRY. 
T.  D.  Wood. 

D.  E.  Smith. 

C.  H.  Farnsworth. 

G.  R.  Richards. 


;^!;jt?$Ti 


'Ik  ■!;','v'"*'i" 


'^T 


'iiiKaliii 


% 


